Sette Vie Tasting Notes

There’s a new range of liqueurs that have hit the UK shores in the past year in the form of traditional Italian family recipes. Covering your familiar styles including limoncello and maraschino, Sette Vie also has Amaro (a herbal digestif) and Ratafia (fruit liqueur) as well as a range of Sambuca’s.

The history of the family owned distillery dates back to the 1880’s, and is located the heart of Abruzzo, Italy.

So below, I give to you my tasting notes on each of their range –

Sette Vie Ratafia – 20%

Hand crafted with Montepulciano d’Abbruzo wine that has been aged three years in oak barrels. The wine is a mix of 90% of Montepulciano
grapes and 10% of Sangiovese. Sweet almonds and a mix of berries and nutmegs are infused in molasses alcohol and blended with the wine. Soft aromas of red berries and almond on the nose. Ripe nut and sugar blend well on the palate to create small bursts of flavour. Short but moorish.

Sette Vie Amaretto – 28%

Created from a balanced blend of sweet and sour almonds. Created in 1880 by the current master distiller’s grandfather and started selling Amaretto locally under its own label in the late nineteen century. Bold almond aromas on the nose with a burnt sugar scent following. Developing flavours of almond, vanilla and fudge with a whisp of smoke on the palate. Lingers.

Sette Vie Amaro – 32%

Made from an ancient recipe, using a variety of twelve alpine and apennine herbs infused in molasses alcohol, and flavoured with a mix of fruits and vegetables, including rhubarb, artichoke, and extract of cinchona, or china bark, that is ecologically sourced from tropical South America. Instant hit of rhubarb and dry fruits on the nose, followed by a sweet beginning on the palate. Develops into a dry herbal offering with notes of wood and fresh vegetables. Long and dry finish.

Sette Vie Limoncello – 32%

Obtained using a unique infusion technique of lemon peels that delivers the best citrus taste. Incredibly fresh yet soft lemon on the nose, with a velvet texture created on the palate. Slight citrus rind flavours mix with subtle sweetness that lingers. A little dry.

Sette Vie Maraschino – 28%

A bittersweet clear Italian liqueur flavoured with Marasca cherries and locally picked Abruzzo cherries that have been macerated in alcohol. The crushed cherry pits go through a triple-maceration process to extract the best natural components that cannot be obtained by pressing the fruits. Fresh, ripe cherry on the nose with a soft sweetness surrounding. Very soft on the palate with delicate flavours of the cherry and subtle sweetness combining to create a slightly warm, lingering finish.

Sette Vie Sambuca Classica – 36%

The award-winning Sambuca is made of a precise blend of hand-picked anise from Italy infused with elderberries and licorice along with other herbs from the Abruzzo region. It also contains extracts of essential oils obtained from star anise. Fresh star anise on the nose with a light flavour coming through on the palate. Creates a slow warmth with a slight spice finish that lingers.

Sette Vie Sambuca Nera – 36%

The award-winning Sambuca Nera, also known as Sette Vie Sambuca Expresso, is made of a blend of hand-picked anise from Italy and a blend of red organic coffee beans hand-picked in Colombia and Bolivia. It also contains extracts of essential oils obtained from star anise and is infused with elderberries and licorice with other herbs from the Abruzzo region. Fresh, deep coffee nose with aromas of star anise coming through. Slow start on the palate but coffee flavours burst out to create a very spicy offering and long finish.

A fantastic range of liqueurs, with the amaretto, maraschino and limoncello highlights for me. I think you’ll start seeing the range in many bars over the coming months as they can all be drunk straight or be used within a cocktail –

La Vita Bella

Glass – 

Rocks

Ingredients –

35 ml Sette Vie Amaretto
15 ml Sette Vie Ratafia
1/2 Lemon
2 Dash Cherry Bitters

Method – 

Dry shake (no ice), all the ingredients together and pour over a glass filled rocks glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Pick up some bottles to play around with, and with more flavours being added this year, your limitations with your experiments could be endless!

Check out the rest of the photos, taken at The Circle 360, via my Facebook page.

© David Marsland and Drinks Enthusiast 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to David Marsland and Drinks Enthusiast with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

© David Marsland and Drinks Enthusiast 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to David Marsland and Drinks Enthusiast with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.