Nose: Aniseed sweetening to liquorish with time. Floating above this is mint and clean herbal aromas. Palate: Very clean; packed with peppermint, menthol and a punch of spice. Finish: Hard boiled peppermint sweets and gentle liquorish.

The origins of this appropriately named mintier summertime version of Fernet Branca lie not with a canny marketeer, but a famous Italian singer, Maria Callas. The diva drunk her Fernet with mint (Fernet Branca alla menta) and being a fashion icon, so did many of her devoted fans.