Distilleria Belfiore

The Distilleria Belfiore is located in the city of Catania, in the region of Sicily, and has chosen to produce labels that are intimately connected with the territory. The project is aimed at enhancing the Etna area through one of its traditionally most important and historically rich symbolic products. The idea is to create a range of artisanal spirits and liqueurs with a unique and strong personality, to counter a certain tendency to standardise flavours, which is typical of an industrial production that has lost its authentic roots. In order to put this company philosophy into practice, the Distilleria Belfiore has decided to offer a range of high quality labels with the wild Etna thistle as their key ingredient.

The wild thistle (Cynara Cardunculus Sylvestris), which is also known as the "Etna artichoke" or "cacucciuleddu spinusu catanisi" in the local dialect, is a plant that belongs to the Asteraceae family and grows wild on the hills around the volcano. It is an indigenous Sicilian variety of artichoke that has found its natural habitat on the slopes of Mount Etna, on soils composed of ancient volcanic sands, which are rich in minerals that are essential to the plant's sustenance. This plant has been cultivated since ancient times and has always been one of the ingredients of the area's typical cuisine. Today the wild thistle is particularly appreciated for its original taste, which evokes the true flavours of the past, and for its important antioxidant and depurative properties.

In addition to being a true delicacy of Sicilian cuisine, and used in many traditional dishes, the wild thistle has proven to be an ingredient that provides a unique character to spirits and liqueurs. Distilleria Belfiore produces an original "Etna" Gin, which is made from botanicals harvested from the slopes of the volcano, including the Wild Thistle that adds a pleasant hint of artichoke and a slightly bitter taste to the fresh balsamic profile of the distillate. This Gin is a perfect match for the "Etna Tonic", which is fresh and citrusy, with a perfect balance of smoothness and slightly bitter notes. The wild thistle is the key ingredient in the Amaro di Carciofino, the Amaro di Arancia e Carciofino and the Grappa al Carciofino, a distillate of grape marc to which an infusion of wild thistle is added.