Don Ciccio Finocchietto-Artisanal Fennel Liqueur 750ml

Don Ciccio & Figli is a Washington, D.C. distillery led by Francesco Amodeo, who reestablished his family's liqueur-making craft after it had lain dormant since a 1980 earthquake destroyed the original operation on Italy's Amalfi Coast, along with the lemon groves that once supplied its limoncello. Amodeo's grandfather, nicknamed Don Ciccio, was a body shop owner whose real passion lay in artisanal liqueurs, and it's that legacy, along with recipes preserved by a second grandfather, Giovanni Porpora, that Amodeo continues today.

Finocchietto follows a recipe dating to 1910 and is built around wild fennel gathered along Calabria's sun-drenched hillsides, a plant Roman gladiators reportedly believed gave them strength. Production involves an infusion of hand-picked wild fennel fronds along with fennel seed, anise seed, and dill, blended with sugar and purified water rather than distilled spirit alone. The result is bottled at 25% ABV, a modest proof that keeps the herbal character gentle rather than assertive.

The liqueur pours a pale, light yellow, with a nose dominated by fresh fennel frond and anise, layered with citrus and a touch of dill. On the palate, sweet fennel and mild licorice unfold alongside a clean citrus lift, finishing refreshing rather than cloying, with a faint vegetal note reminiscent of fresh herbs. It is traditionally sipped chilled as a digestivo after a Neapolitan meal.