Recipe: Fusettone

Something New on the Italian Red Bitters Front.

Bitter Fusetti, a new Italian red bitters.

Bitter Fusetti has been following me for nearly a year now.

I first spotted the Italian aperitivo—a new entry in the growing red bitters category—at the Roma Bar Show last May. That took some doing. There were hundreds of spirits being poured at that event. It took a lot to stand out. And being a new red bitter alone is not going to do it. In the last decade, it seems like dozens of ruby elixirs have entered the market, all wanting a slice of the big global Negroni pie.

That the Fusetti stand was serving a simple and absolutely delicious drink, something called the Fusettone, certainly helped attract my attention. The Fusettone is a highball made of the bitter and grapefruit soda, a drink easily prepared and thus, at that moment, acquired without waiting in a long line.

But what really slowed my steps through the corridors of the convention hall was Fusetti’s limited edition bottling called Americano. It’s base was not neutral grain alcohol but actual, honest-to-goodness Bourbon.