Isolabella is one of the oldest sambuco in Italy: the recipe, which remains unchanged to this day, is almost 150 years old. Today this liqueur is exported to 160 countries.
Production features. Sambuca Isolabella is a clear, colorless drink with a strength of 40%, characterized by both fresh and spicy taste.
In the manufacture, seven herbs are mixed:
- Chinese star anise;
- Spanish green anise;
- Moroccan coriander;
- iris root;
- Ecuadorian musk mallow;
- Turkish rose petals;
- elder flowers.
The mixture is insisted on alcohol for seven days, then subjected to double distillation, a sweetener is added and bottled.
ILLVA Saronno mixologists recommend drinking Isolabella sambuca in one of three ways:
- traditionally, with three coffee beans;
- put a sliced orange slice on the bottom of the glass and pour over chilled sambuca (you can add a little crushed ice);
- instead of an orange slice, put a few candied fruits on the bottom of the glass.
Historical reference. Tourists visiting the small Lombard town of Saronno are sure to be shown the famous fresco of the Miraculous Madonna, written in 1525 by Bernardino Luini, a student of Leonardo da Vinci himself. According to legend, when the artist arrived in Saronno, he could not find a model for his painting for a long time. But one day Bernardino went into one of the local taverns and was struck by the spirituality of the facial features of the owner of the establishment. Signor Luini painted a beautiful innkeeper in the image of the Madonna, and in gratitude for this, the woman gave him a bottle of an unusually delicious liquor of her own preparation. The artist claimed until the end of his life that he had never tried anything better.
This really could happen: Lombardy has long been famous for tinctures, and almost every family here still keeps their own recipes, bequeathed by their ancestors, like the apple of their eye. In any case, Domenico Reina, a native of Saronno, claimed that his Amaretto Di Saronno is the same liqueur that delighted maestro Luini several centuries ago. The recipe for the drink has been passed down in the Reina family from generation to generation since the beginning of the 1600th century: in XNUMX, Giovanni Reina became aware of the secret of a charming innkeeper.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Signor Domenico opened the Domenico Reina Coloniali store in the center of Saronno, where he sold his own liqueurs. Trade was very brisk: the store, owned by the Reina family, was located next to the railway station. Before the Second World War, Domenico Reina commissioned bottle sketches and advertising posters from the best Italian artists and designers.
During the war, the production of the drink stopped, but in 1947, the son of Signor Domenico revived the family company. The new company was named ILLVA Saronno (the abbreviation stands for “Industria, Lombarda, Liquori, Vini & Affini”).
The business developed so successfully that from the 60s ILLVA Saronno began to export its products abroad. During the same period, the Reina family acquired the old Italian brand Isolabella.
E.Isolabella & Figlio was founded in 1870. Signor Egidio Isolabella was distinguished by his inquisitive mind and restless character, and went down in history as an unsurpassed blender. More than anything, he loved to travel, and from trips he brought various exotic herbs. Isolabella devoted a lot of time to experiments with the distillation of liqueurs: being an ambitious man, Egidio set out to create a sambuca comparable to the famous Manzi liqueur. The signor put the number seven as the basis for the drink recipe: seven herbs insist on alcohol for seven days.
In the XNUMXth century, E.Isolabella & Figlio produced sambuca, amaro, cognacs and other drinks according to original recipes compiled by the founder. The new owners of the brand did not change anything in the technology of making liqueurs.
ILLVA Saronno marketers came up with the motto for the Isolabella sambuca advertising campaign: “Grace and style.” For consumers, liquor was supposed to be associated with luxury. According to the agreement concluded with the house of Versace, this sambuca has become the official drink at all fashion shows.
Today, ILLVA Saronno has grown into a huge international holding that owns the most famous Italian, English and Irish brands. However, all shares in the company are still owned by the Reina family.
The president of the company is Angelo Reina, the executive director is his younger brother, Signor Augusto. Despite the fact that the youngest of the brothers recently turned 75 years old, he spends almost half of his time on the road, inspecting enterprises in Europe and America.
It was Signor Augusto who came up with the idea that Isolabella sambuca should become closer to the youth. According to marketing research, 60% of the brand’s fans are men, and half of them are between the ages of 25 and 55. Squat, with convex sides, the drink bottle used to have a “cozy” look and was perfect for a family feast.
Since 2010, the sambuca bottle has become sleeker and taller, and the bottom has become much smaller in diameter. Near the bottom, the vessel narrows, so it is convenient to hold it in one hand. To make it easier for the bartender to accurately measure the amount of drink for a cocktail, the neck of the bottle was equipped with a special nozzle.
A few years ago, sales of elite alcohol in China fell significantly: the country’s government adopted strict laws prohibiting expensive gifts from officials. As a result, even such giants of the alcohol industry as Pernod Ricard and Campari Group suffered.
The Reina brothers’ solution was simple and original: they focused on supplying products to Duty Free shops around the world. This strategy has borne fruit. For example, in 2015 alone, sales of Isolabella sambuca and other drinks produced by ILLVA Saronno at Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo airports grew by 80%.