Amaro Elisir Novasalus

Not the most bitter thing I've had, but it's up there. After getting acclimated to the bitterness (2-3 sips) it has a great flavor. Even after that, the bitterness lingers in my mouth for over an hour.

Like Chinese herbal medicine, but astonishingly bitter. A hard reset button for the palate.

Appearance: Dark sienna brown edged with amber gold. When swirled, a yellow film is momentarily left on the glass before splitting into thick, sparse legs. Aroma: Old wine, earthy herbal extracts, tobacco, tree resin and cola syrup. It’s an attractive nose of the herbal “alpine” variety. Taste and Texture: An initial sweet hint on the arrival with winey base notes. This is rapidly overtaken by mounting bitterness and herbal complexity on the mid palate. Bitter citrus peel, pine resin and oak gall appear towards the dry herbal finish. The texture is firm and rich, but the bitterness cuts through. The finish is extraordinarily long. An uncompromising amaro that is not for the faint-hearted. This puts Fernet Branca in its place and makes it seem like a noisy teenager. The bitterness here is earnest and aloof and although there is great complexity and some sweetness this is fundamentally a dry, resinous and confronting amaro based on aged dry marsala. It requires dedication and I would not blame anyone for disliking it. Mrs Cascode took one sniff and declared it the equivalent of black cough expectorant. After a sip she amended that to say that this is not meant for internal consumption at all, but rather for application to abrasions as a disinfectant. I think the critical key to this would be – do you like the taste of very dry sherry? If so then you are on the first rung of the ladder to enjoying it. However if the answer is no then I’d recommend avoiding it like the plague and looking at the friendlier, sweeter amari such as Montenegro and Averna. I sat with a glass for about an hour, slowly getting to know it. I did go back for a second glass but two were quite enough, and I gratefully turned to a nice PX sherry to finish the night. Overall the experience was interesting but akin to hitting your hand with a hammer - intense, but a relief when you stop. I would never buy another bottle, and when it comes to wine-based amari I'd much prefer a glass of Pasubio, which is made by the same company. Very difficult to rate this because it is well made but awfully hard to enjoy. “Adequate” : 70/100 (2 stars)

Tabacco and berries