Russo Melone Cremoncello di Sicilia

Appearance: Opaque salmon pink. Aroma: Exactly like the aroma of a ripe rockmelon (cantaloupe). Flavour and Texture: Again, exactly like the flavor of a ripe rockmelon. Creamy, viscous and rich. Very simple and focused on the main ingredient but there are no unpleasant flavours or faults. Russo primarily make liqueurs based on a specific ingredient – hazelnut liqueur, orange liqueur and so on. They are similar to other brands with a wide range of styles such as Massenez, Vedrenne and Giffard. Russo’s speciality is cellos and creamy cellos. Limoncello and the like are very easy to make at home but if you have ever tried to make your own cream liqueurs you’ll know that it is a whole different thing, and hard to get right. Russo pull it off well without resorting to artificial ingredients, but E481 is used as a stabiliser and some people may have an objection to it. Their cremoncello range includes some interesting flavours such as pistachio, licorice and rose petal and they are all worth a taste. We bought a 6 pack sampler plus a few individual samples but I'm not going to review them all here as the quality is uniform. This cream cello and the arancello I reviewed previously can be taken as exemplars for the whole range. Reasonably priced and most of the range is available in 700, 500, 200ml and 100ml sizes. “Above Average” : 80/100 (3 stars)