Poli Museo della Grappa Srlu

Citrus flavor

• Plant: Aloysia Citrodora, Lemon verbena (Lippia Citriodora)
• Plant part: leaf
• Plant feauters: digestive, aromatic, diuretic, stomachic expectorant, nerve-strengthening, corrective, antispasmodic, neurotonic

• Description:

  The naturalist Augusto Lippi, at the end of the 16th century, embarked on a journey of exploration in Egypt and along the course of the observed in large quantities a herbaceous plant with a unique lemon flavor.
  This plant was later dedicated to him with the name of Lippia Citriodora, but not because Augusto Lippi was the discoverer (it seems that the plant is native to South America) but rather because one wanted to reward its naturalistic endeavors in Egypt and Abyssinian. The plant is also known under several vulgar nomenclatures as lemon verbena and even lemon beebrush.

  Its medicinal properties are mainly digestive, antispasmodic and flavoring, in the household its leaves are still used to scent linen.
  It is above all its essential oil, rich in flavor and taste, which makes the plant extremely suitable for flavoring liqueurs.

   

The recipe

• Ingredients:

  - a handful of dried leaves of Citronella
  - 1 liter of Grappa
  - 1 zest of lemon
  - 2 tablespoons sugar

• Preparation:

  To make a flavored Grappa you need a handful of dry leaves in a liter of grappa together with a zest of lemon and a couple of tablespoons of sugar.
  All must be left to macerate for at least three months and then filtered.
  The liquor, light green in color and with flavors and fragrance of citrus, is a good digestive.