Forty-five cocktails, forty-five ways to drink an excellent Italian product: grappa. This is the treasure contained in the book “The Grappa Handbook” published, in Italian and English, by the ancient Nardini distillery, on the occasion of its 240th anniversary.

The author is Nick Hopewell-Smith, considered the evangelist of grappa – the book is dedicated to connoisseurs, but it also aims at suggesting new ways to appreciate grappa in unique combinations and cocktails created to enhance its taste as well as its ancient history.
The cocktails were created by some of the most important international mixologists including Ueno Hidetsugo, Leonardo Leuci, Sullivan Doh and Ago Perrone, with three legendary classic cocktails developed by guru Dale DeGroff.
Re-edited 11 years after its first edition, curated by Nick Hopewell-Smith and Marcin Miller, the new book includes some taste notes by award-winning writer and drink expert David Broom, who also added his authoritative commentary on Nardini’s award-winning Bortolo Selection. Although The Grappa Handbook was commissioned by Nardini – the family of distillers behind the best-selling premium grappa in Italy – there is no lack of mentions and recommendations of other fine brands, which makes this particular taste guide more complete.

The book also presents a wide range of Nardini products, including their remarkable line of aperitifs and liqueurs; the refined expression of two centuries of experience that keeps the ancient tradition alive by combining it with a constant ability to innovate.
These are the values that have been passed down through the centuries by this Venetian company, based in Bassano del Grappa, whose most exclusive product is the superb Grappa Riserva Single Cask, a refined blend aged 22 years exclusively in a single Slavonian oak barrel, with a complex and delicate character, rich in nuances, surprisingly soft on the palate, with a marked hint of vanilla and light floral notes.