Castelforte Alkermes Santa Maria Novella - 50cl

The Alkermes liqueur of the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella is a historic label that offers an absolutely excellent version of this speciality, characterised by an intensely aromatic and spicy profile. The word Alkermes derives from Arabic and was used to indicate the bright red colour of cochineal, used in antiquity as a natural dye for silk. It is still produced today following 18th century instructions, preserved within the walls of the monastery of the Dominican monks of Santa Maria Novella. It is an excellence of Tuscan tradition, widely used in confectionery to create sweets with an intense flavour and unusual and surprising colour effects.The Liquore dell'Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella all'Alkermes is one of the Florentine factory's most interesting preparations. The secret of the liqueur lies in its preparation, which still takes place in an absolutely artisanal way, following with extreme precision an ancient recipe created by Fra' Cosimo Bucelli in 1743. The manufacturing processes and ingredients have not changed over the centuries. It starts with a few carefully selected high-quality raw materials: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, rosewater, raspberries, alcohol, sugar and water. The spices are steeped in pure alcohol, so that they can impart all their precious aromas to the distillate. At the end of the long steeping period, the infusion is filtered and mixed with the other ingredients to create a harmonious and balanced liqueur..The Alkermes-flavoured liqueur from Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella is a bottle reminiscent of the tastes of yesteryear and traditional sweets. To the eye, it has a brilliant and luminous ruby-red colour. Intense and rich, it offers a bouquet characterised by notes of sweet spices, cinnamon, cardamom, nuances of cloves, hints of medicinal herbs, on a soft and sweet background of raspberry, cherry and black cherry in spirit. The palate has a warm, velvety and enveloping entrance, with an intense spiciness, a decisive aromatic charge and the pleasant sweetness of juicy red fruit. Harmonious and complex, it has a very persistent finish, returning to spicy and slightly spicy notes.