Dimmi Liquore di Milano: an enticing new Italian liqueur

There are few, very few, spirits that so perfectly capture the essence of a place as Dimmi Liquore di Milano.

Created by Stefano Turrini and produced by Sperone, Dimmi embodies the nature of northern Italy---specifically Lombardy and Piemonte. 

If you are fortunate enough to have been there, Dimmi takes you back with one sip.  If you are so unfortunate as to have not yet been there, Dimmi will create an instant urge to go and experience that special place.

Unique in aroma and flavor, Dimmi is a delicate combination of wheat spirits with a touch of grappa di Nebbiolo, the noble grape of Barolo and Barbaresco wines of the Piedmont.

The base spirit is then infused once with a family recipe from the 1930s of herbs and bitters, including assenzio gentile (Italian absinthe), liquorice, vanilla, rhubarb, ginseng and bitter orange.

A second floral infusion follows, with delicate peach and apricot blossoms, to add a distinct aromatic signature to the liqueur.

The resulting liqueur is unlike any other you've had, neither as starkly bitter and herbal as Campari, nor as sweet and spicy as Tuaca.

It rests delicately on the tongue and speaks softly in liquid Italian, with the fashionable elegance of a Milanese and the country charm of a Piemontese.

When sipping Dimmi, it's difficult not to picture the Galleria, or to feel the cool Alpine winds blowing down from the north. (It's also difficult to remain objective and not float away on a lyrical cloud when you're sipping Dimmi---it's just that kind of liqueur.)

But the best thing about Dimmi?  Its inherent mixability in the hands of a creative mixologist.  With its particular profile, what Turrini calls the masculinity of the herbal infusion and the femininity of the floral infusion---and yes, Italians do talk that way---the Dimmi inspires mixologists.

To cite just one example of that creativity, take a look at this cocktail by the well-known mixokogist Neyah White of Nopa in San Francisco:

"SUMMER CUP" by Neyah White

1/2 oz Dimmi Liquore di Milano
1 1/2 OZ Beefeater 24 Gin
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
2 oz Q or Fever Tree tonic water
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice 
Serve in a flute glass

Neyah White's Mixing Thoughts

"At Nopa we have started to look at Dimmi the way Maraschino is used classically, not quite a sweetener, not quite a bitter. Dimmi shines as a rounding agent somewhere between the two while leaving a gentle signature. It would never steal the spotlight from the base spirit, but rather prefers to lay flowers around its feet."

(For other suggested cocktails, you can go to the Dimmi website.)

Further good news is that Dimmi is available in Portland and you'll be seeing it pop up on some of the most fashionable back bars in town.  

Dimmi is Italian for "tell me", because Turrini kept getting questions about his new liqueur from bartenders...as in "tell me what that is...tell me what is in it...tell me how I can get it."  When you taste Dimmi, you'll be saying the same thing.