Italian bitter sodas

[phaelon56]

I found this today when nosing around at a new Mediterranean market in my town. It's a carbonated, non-alcoholic Italian product. The bottles are 100 ml in size - just a bit over 3 ounces. I almost think one could duplicate this using good bitters (as in Angostura), some soda water and perhaps a bit of grenadine for that hint of sweetness.

It does in fact taste bitter but in a really good way. I suspect it would be complemented nicely by a dash of fresh lime juice but I have none in the house today. My digestif / apertif of choice has long been tonic water with just a splash of Rose's lime (or a few ounces of fresh lime in a tall glass of tonic). I could easily see this as a suitable replacement.

Does anyone know of other beverages like this?

[JAZ]

Pellegrino makes a drink called Sanbitter, which is very similar to Campari in taste but nonalcoholic. It's good with soda or Aranciata (Pellegrino's orange soda) or Orangina.

[phaelon56]

I just tried a bottle of Sanbitter this weekend. it is very good but sweeter and a bit less bitter than the Stappj. I like the Sanbitter as an anytime drink - very refreshing - the Stappj seems to have an edge as an apertif - drier and more bitter.

[evilhomer]

stappj is great, that company also makes rabarbaro which is both bitter-er and sweeter, almost cola-like.

i don't know if your bottles are the same, but mine say 'best before: end' whch still cracks me up.

[Roger Troutman]

Does anyone out there love this stuff, other than me?

For those of you who haven't tasted it, it's a very bitter citrus soda.

[WoodleyGrrl]

I cannot even muster a single sip of this stuff.

Waaaaaay too bitter.

[slkinsey]

It's one of my favorites, although I find that it is too bitter and herbal for most American palates. I took a couple of 1.5l bottles of it to the eG NJ pig roast last summer, and while there were many tryers there were few takers.

[WoodleyGrrl]

It's one of my favorites, although I find that it is too bitter and herbal for most American palates. I took a couple of 1.5l bottles of it to the eG NJ pig roast last summer, and while there were many tryers there were few takers.

What is actually in this stuff? What are the ingrediants?

[canadiancook]

I love the stuff. Also like Brio Chinotto too.

I find that the bitterness and the fact that it is not so sweet as coke makes it actually thirst quenching.

Most of my friends wouldn't touch this stuff though.

[Roger Troutman]

What is actually in this stuff?  What are the ingrediants?

While I do not proclaim to be an expert on the substance, it is my understanding that the distinct bitter flavor comes from the chinotto extract. Chinotto is a citrus fruit.

As bitter as the soda tastes, I can't imagine biting into one of those things without suffering a gruesome fate.

[Stigand]

Their rather cool website seems to be working again. I don't speak enough Italian to understand much of it, but I like the pretty bubbles.

There are more eGullet Chino fans on this page.

[phaelon56]

I've been keeping a six pack in the fridge since I discovered it my local (and only) Italian import store. It's the lack of sweetness and the bitter edge that I find so appealing. I also get Sansbitter and sip that on occasion but the Chinotto is better as a regular drink. If you have not yet tried it check out Moka. It's made by Big, another Italian soft drink company, and has a really smooth coffee flavor but with little sweetness and almost no carbonation. The problem I have is price - up here (upstate NY) that six packs of 100 ml bottles are $4 - $5.

[Moopheus]

I think all of the Sanpellegrino sodas, including Chinotto and the Bitter, are great. I got hooked on them in my younger days when I used to frequent the cafes of Boston's North End. They go great with a cannoli. And no, they aren't cheap, here in Brooklyn generally about $4 per six pack. I've tried the Moka, and thought it was okay, but really prefer the Manhattan Special.

[gabe]

Okay, I know it goes down the hatch, but I was wondering what are some of the ways people enjoy this peculiar, bitter, sweet little herbal-tasting Italian soda. On the rocks I find it a bit bracing -- I love the bitterness, but it's a bit too sweet. I like how it tastes with orange juice, and it was all right (though still too sweet) with Squirt grapefruit soda.

I haven't tried it with booze, but it's interesting enough that I bet it would make a great mixer in the hands of someone more intuitive than I about those things. Or is it a good idea to mix it with, say, soda or tonic water.

Quite the interesting find -- it comes in beautiful 3.4-oz. glass bottles in a ten-pack. Very sexy Italian design.

[JAZ]

I mix it with San Pellegrino's Aranciata, about 1 part to 2 of the Aranciata. It's also good with soda and a squeeze of lemon. Those are two of my staple non-alcoholic cocktails in my classes.

Since it's got basically the same flavor profile as Campari, you could use it in any drinks that call for that.

[dillybravo]

Do you get the brown cans or the almost black ones?

I've seen both versions: brown for export and black for domestic, and the black one is both substantially less sweet and substantially more bitter.

[phaelon56]

In my area the Italian sodas are sold only in bottles. Chinotto comes in a bottle that is roughly 6.5 oz in volume. Sanbitter is in a bottle about half that size.

[phaelon56]

If I can get my local Italian deli to order Aranciata I'll try that. I've been drinking it chilled straight up and just sip it as a digestif before dinner.

[AuntieNellieKulolo]

I usually mix it with seltzer or soda water. I haven't tried adding white wine or Prosecco if you can get it(to make the traditional Venetian 'spritz'), but that would probably be good as well.