Italian liqueurs
Italian liqueurs, these drinks are very common in Italian daily life. Drink an alcoholic drink after a meal should help digestion.
Some years ago Italians used to drink whisky, brandy or other alcoholic drinks. Now they have turned to their own drinks, such as limoncello, mirto, grappa or even vin santo.
Italian liqueurs are usually called in a very curious way: ammazza caffé, which means "kill coffee" as it is served after the coffee.
If we consider the whole of Italy, the most commonly used is certainly grappa. It's a distilled drink that is made of Italian grape-skins.
There are many types of grappa ... and of different qualities, just like any other product. There are the "simple" ones and the "barrique" ones that are matured using wood barriques.
The next popular drink, after grappa, is a specialty from the Amalfi Coast (that is now produced in almost all regions of South Italy) called Limoncello. It's a lemon liqueur made using the Sicilian type of lemon.
Its quality makes it a special and unique drink: a classic for after a meal.
Limoncello is a sweet liqueur that is enjoyed especially by women, who often find grappa too strong for them (I am one of those!).
There's another tasty liqueur that is typical of Sardinia (this one can only be produced here, and it has to have the quality seal to prove that it is prepared using the local, natural fruit called Mirto) that, other than being very tasty, aids digestion due to the natural properties of the Mirto plant.
One can still meet people who will ask for an amaro (bitter) after a meal. The most famous ones during the 80's were Ramazzotti, Cynar (made from artichokes) and Jagermeister (made from herbs).
In Tuscany, it is common to finish a meal dipping cantuccini (the traditional biscuits originated in Prato) into vin santo, a sweet, typical Tuscan white wine.
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