Centerbe or Centerba (Italian for "one hundred herbs"), is a

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged bey ...

made by

aromatic herb An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

s commonly found on Mount Majella. It is a typical abruzzese liquor in central Italy and it's made on a base of 70% alcohol. The liqueur comes in two strengths: strong and mild. The strong centerba is widely used as digestif after-meals and has antiseptic properties. It was originally manufactured by Beniamino Toro in

Tocco da Casauria Tocco da Casauria is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Central Italy. The centre was known for centuries as simply Tocco, and the name "da Casauria" was added only after 1861. It rises on a hill between the ...

in 1817. It's usually made with 60 to 150 proof (30–75%)

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

, and can be made by placing orange leaves, basil, chamomile, rosemary, sage, juniper, cloves, cinnamon, toasted coffee beans, saffron, mint, lemon leaves, mandarin leaves, thyme blossoms, and marjoram in a bottle. 'White Unsweetened Centerbe' is an ingredient in the forgotten (presumably French) Coup de Foudre

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cocktail, included in the United Kingdom Bartenders Guild's '1700 Cocktails' (1934). Verbatim, the recipe is: 1/3 White Unsweetened Centerbe', 1/3 Red Curaçao, 1/3 Coates Plymouth Gin. Serve with a small piece of candied orange peel. There was a "green and unsweetened" version, as listed in the "Green Devil" cocktail recipe included in the book "Drinks Long and Short" (1925 - Nina Toye and A.H. Adair) also published in the UK. Here's the recipe: "A potent cocktail, very dry, warranted to wake up any party. Contrary to most cocktails no depression is felt when the effects wears off. This cocktail can be mixed or bottle for use. Four glasses of gin, three quarters of a glass of Noilly Prat Vermouth (Martini Rossi), half a glass of Centerbe, green and unsweetened. Ice and shake well. Serve so cold that the glasses are frosted." BTW, the "Coup de Foudre" cocktail mentioned in the previous paragraph could also be found in "Drinks Long and Short" in 1925 (page 29) 'Unsweetened' suggests that, at that time, a strictly medicinal version of Centerbe was available, perhaps similar to the homemade recipe above without the sugar syrup. Alternatively, many of the 18th century sweet recipes are, to modern tastes, exceptionally sweet. So perhaps standard Centerbe was routinely sweetened to make it palatable. Bols and Grand Marnier both formerly made red curacaos. Coates, then owners of Plymouth Gin, subsidised the publication of 1700, and in return became the 'named' gin brand in almost all the recipes.

References

{{reflist Italian liqueurs Products introduced in 1817 Cuisine of Abruzzo Herbal liqueurs

See also

References