Don Ciccio Mandarinetto Liqueur 750ml

Don Ciccio & Figli is the Washington, D.C. distillery run by Francesco Amodeo, who revived his family's liqueur tradition dating back to 1883 on Italy's Amalfi Coast after decades of dormancy following a devastating 1980 earthquake. He relaunched the operation in 2012, rebuilding recipes his ancestors had once produced by hand along the Amalfi hillsides, and the distillery today produces its full range of amari, aperitivos, and cordials in small batches at its Ivy City facility.

Mandarinetto follows a recipe dating to 1948 and is made using the same method as the distillery's limoncello, substituting fresh mandarin oranges and tangelos for lemons. The fruit is hand-harvested between November and June, and the juice and peel are infused into the liqueur base without any added coloring or stabilizers. The finished liqueur is aged briefly in stainless steel vessels for about 45 days before bottling, and comes in at 25% ABV.

The liqueur shows a bright nose of sweet mandarin peel, candied orange, and floral citrus. On the palate it turns lush and silky, balancing vivid mandarin juice against a touch of zesty peel bitterness and gentle sweetness, with a long, bright finish carrying lingering citrus oils. It's often used as a natural substitute for triple sec or curaçao in citrus-driven cocktails.