Frangelico Hazlenut liqueur

For a nutty alternative on your Espresso Martini we are including Frangelico hazelnut liqueur in our November kit!
This stuff is so delicious from the moment you open the bottle and get that tempting aroma there’s no going back.

Tonda Gentile hazelnuts are known for being bigger, plumper and more uniform, with a skin that sheds easily, perfect for toasting without a bitter taste. Their sweet flavour is the reason they are so sought after. Tonda Gentile hazelnuts, grown in the Langhe, an area of rural hills and picturesque villages in southern Piedmont, are also used to obtain the distillate for Frangelico. The hazelnuts once toasted and distilled with alcohol, are married with other flavouring preparations including cocoa, coffee and vanilla according to the secret recipe.Fran martini

History

Legend has it, its origins date back more than 300 years to the presence of Christian monks living in the hills of the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Their skills in fine food and drinks included the art of distilling, especially the use of the wild hazelnuts and other precious ingredients to create liquor recipes such as the one on which Frangelico is based today.

Its name is also part of the same local legend – an abbreviation of Fra’ Angelico, a hermit monk believed to have inhabited the magnificent Piedmont hills during the 18th century.

The Frangelico bottle is an immediate reminder of this distinctive history. Shaped like a monk’s habit, with a traditional rope belt around its waist, it is a guarantee of authenticity and quality that links the past right through to the present day.

Frangelico 4 step process:

1. Hazelnuts: Local Piedmont hazelnuts are harvested, shelled, toasted and crushed. They are then infused in a solution of alcohol and water.

2. Distillation: The hazelnut infusion is distilled to produce a natural hazelnut distillate.

3. Flavourings: The hazelnut distillate is blended with extract and distillates from cocoa seeds, vanilla berries, and other flavouring preparations to create Frangelico concentrate.

4. Blending: The concentrate is blended with pure alcohol, sugar and water to achieve the required bottling strength. It is then laid down in vats for 6-8 weeks to allow the blend to marry together and mellow.

When and how to drink it…

Drink it in winter and summer; to warm you up or cool you down; short or long; straight or mixed. It’s delicious in every way. As a classic liqueur, Frangelico is perfect after a meal neat or with ice or as a complement to the coffee. For sheer sophistication, pour it over ice with a squeeze of Lime for an intense and refreshing experience.

Subscribe now to be the first to try this in the Espresso Martini kit in November.

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