Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur 750ml

Frangelico is an Italian hazelnut liqueur produced in Canale, in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, an area famous for its Tonda Gentile hazelnut orchards. Legend traces the recipe to a 17th-century hermit monk named Angelico who reportedly lived in the Piedmont hills, though the liqueur wasn't commercially launched in the United States until 1978. Its distinctive bottle, shaped like a Franciscan friar's cassock and tied with a cord rope, nods to that monastic origin story regardless of how much of it is embellishment.

Production starts with Tonda Gentile hazelnuts, prized for their large, uniform size and sweet flavor, which are toasted and then distilled with neutral alcohol. That nutty distillate is infused with cacao beans, coffee, vanilla, berries, rhubarb root, and sweet orange flower, among other natural flavorings, then rested in oak casks before being sweetened and bottled. The liqueur's strength was lowered from 24% to 20% ABV around 2014 when the label was redesigned, and it remains at 20% ABV today.

The liqueur pours a clear, pale amber and opens with intense hazelnut aromas layered over notes reminiscent of butter and biscuit. On the palate it's rich and lightly syrupy, combining roasted hazelnut with vanilla, cocoa, and a touch of mocha coffee, finishing with warm, nutty toffee and a lingering citrus note.