Iron Amaro Philip Duff Fulvio Piccinino

WITH
PHILIP DUFF & FULVIO PICCININO
IRON AMARO:
THE FERRO CHINA CATEGORY
@philipduff @saperebere #IronAmaro #TOTC2016

Iron Amaro:
The Ferro China Category
Amaro: EU 110 / 2008
“Bitter-tasting spirit drinks or bitter
(a) Bitter-tasting spirit drinks or bitter are spirit drinks with a
predominantly bitter taste.”
(b) The minimum alcoholic strength by volume of bitter-tasting
spirit drinks or bitter shall be 15 %.
(c) Bitter tasting spirit drinks or bitter may also be sold under the
names ‘amer’ or ‘bitter’ with or without another term.”

Iron Amaro:
Amaro: EU 110 / 2008

Iron Amaro:
Amaro: EU 110 / 2008
Geographical protections for bitter-tasting spirit drinks
 Demänovka bylinná horká, Slovakia
Rheinberger Kräuter, Germany
 Trejos devynerios, Lithuania
Slovenska travarica, Slovenia

Iron Amaro:
Tree native to eastern tropical
Andes
Second Countess of Chinchón
(near. Madrid)
 Also known as:
•China / China bark
•Quina-quina
•Jesuit's bark / Jesuit's powder
•Fever tree
•Calisaya
Cinchona - “china”

Iron Amaro:
@philipduff @saperebere #IronAmaro
#TOTC2016
C. Ledgeriana or c. succirubra
 1638: First used as anti-malarial in it's native Peru
 1640: First used in Europe; Jesuits, popes, royals
 1820: Antimalarial quinine isolated
 Mid-1800s: Dutch & UK smuggle seeds to Java &
Ceylon
 1918: Dutch near-monopoly, but then WWI &
WWII
 1944: Quinine synthesized
2016: - Africa now world's largest producer

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
 Anti-malarial
 GI / digestive aid
 Relieves arthritis
 Abortifacient
 Reduces fever
 Painkilling properties
 Anti-arrhythmia agent
 Fluorescency test

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
 Amari, esp. china elixirs

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Amari, esp. china elixirs
 Vermouth (1786)

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
 Vermouth, quinquina

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
 Vermouth, quinquina &
americano

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
 Vermouth
 Tonic water

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
 Vermouth
 Tonic water
 Bitter lemon

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
 Vermouth
 Tonic water
 Bitter lemon
 Irn Bru

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Amaro (a bitter spirit drink, so not a quinquina),
containing cinchona (“china”)
and
iron citrate (“ferro”),
min. 15% ABV (30 proof).
Ferro China Amaro

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Non-alcoholic Alcoholic Wine based Spirit based Has quinine? Has iron citrate?
Tonic water X X
Irn Bru X X X
Vermouth X X
Quinquina X X X
China elixir X X X
Ferro china X X X X
Ferro China Amaro

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
So how, when & why did the Ferro China Category come to exist?
Why in Italy?
And why is there only one brand in Italy left?
Ferro China Amaro

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Since 827 –
Arab distilling knowledge in Italy
+
Italian viticulture
+
Monk-based scientific research

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Eating While Lying Down
Pros
Makes you look like a bad ass
Comfy
Convenient for food coma
Cons
Worst possible position for
digesting food
Stains on the couch

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Liquori Curativi

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Liquori Curativi:
“Bladder catarrh” / “Military drop”

Iron Amaro:
Tons Of Crazy, Shady Stuff
Ischirogeno Onorato Baptist, Naples, 1899

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Strychnine, strychnos nux-vomica tree
Cocaine, paper by Paolo Mantegazza,
professor in Milan (1860)
 China Marziale – china + nux vomica
+ cocaine

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
1863: Vin Mariani,
French-Corsican Angelo Mariani
 6mg to 7.2mg cocaine extract/oz.
Fans: Queen Victoria, Thomas
Edison
Vatican gold medal from Pope Leo
XIII

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
- 1863: Vin Mariani
- Inspired Coca-Cola (1885)

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
- Late 1800s: Gold spiral in infusion to
“free golden ions” for health benefits(?!)
Tons Of Crazy Stuff

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Korea declares independence from China.
International Olympic Committee founded.
State of New York enacts first dog-licensing law.
Both Baliva and Bisleri brands of ferro china born - the
first entirely Italian health tonic brands
1894

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Dr. Ernesto Baliva
Born 1863
Graduated medical school 1880s
Worked Red Cross, battling malaria in
south Italy
Worked Farmacia Langeli, licensed to
import china since 1838
Created Ferro China Baliva 1894,
outsourced production to Pompilio
Benedetti & received royalties.
Benedetti exported to US during
Prohibition as “medicinal alcohol”

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Dr. Ernesto Baliva
Ferro China Baliva
sold to pharmacies around Rome.
 Anti-malarial & protein supplement
 Quickly became leader in Rome &
Lazio
 1978: Family asks Virgilio Pallini to
produce

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Adults: a shot before dinner,
also as aperitif
Ferro China Baliva

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Adults: a shot before dinner,
also as aperitif
Children: a spoon before bed,
or whipped into an egg yolk
Ferro China Baliva

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Cinchona succirubra, calamus, gentian,
condurango, & bitter orange.
Macerated in neutral spirit (Italian sugar beet
distillate) and pressed.
Aged in glass for 3 weeks
Iron citrate (powder), sugar (syrup), alcohol &
water added
Bottled.
Ferro China Baliva: Production

Iron Amaro:
PRODUCTION PROCESS

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Ferro China Baliva: Gladiator & Lion
-

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Bisleri & Co Chemical Lab,
Milan
1894: Nocera Umbra source,
water
1894: Ferro China Bisleri
1899: Esanofele (quinine, iron,
arsenic)
Felice Bisleri

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Felice Bisleri

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
-

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Every distillery in Italy made a ferro-china
The Ferro China Craze

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Every distilling manual 1850-1900 had FC recipes
Exports to the Americas, Asia, India
-
The Ferro China Craze

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
The Argentina Connection
-
Ferrocarril (Railway)
1 part ferro china
1 part Pineral
1 part vermouth
1 dash maraschino liqueur
1 dash grenadine syrup
Shake with ice
Strain into cocktail coupe

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Liquori Curativi:
From monks…

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Liquori Curativi:
...to pharmacists.

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Liquori Curativi:
...to advertising agencies & newspapers!
By late 1600s: pharmacy advertising
> alcohol advertising
1850: Pharmacists bought newspaper
firms.
1863, Manzoni & Co, Milan.
1868: Trademark registration begins.
1927: First laws restricting health
advertising.

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Lengthy, text-heavy advertisements

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Signatures, Medals & Seals

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Ferro China – The Musical!

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Target Markets For Ferro China
Bourgeoisie (bought newspapers, & took health tonics), not
commoners (peasants were illiliterate & drank liquor)
The pale & anaemic: nobility, women & adolescents

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Target Markets For Ferro China

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
Then Suntans Became Popular...
1922: Fascists valued suntans & healthiness (“workers”)
 1923: Coco Chanel, Josephine Baker

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
1914: Slight Interruption To Our Scheduled Programming

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
1939: ...And Again.

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
“The Ferro China liqueur came out a few years ago but didn’t
stick in spite of the aggressive advertising campaigns promoted by
its inventor.
Even though it’s been successful in the export channel, it didn’t
become popular or much utilized, in Italy”.
~Luigi Sala, influential liquor author, 1897

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
1970s – 2016: Decline
1970s: Ferro china began losing ground to vermouth
 Companies re-allocated advertising budgets to higher-profit vermouth,
rosolio & ratafia
 2015: Production of Ferro China Bisleri ceases

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
2016
Worldwide trend for bitter (amaro), low-alcohol, gluten-free,
artisanal craft spirits
 Pallini start actively marketing Ferro China Baliva

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
2016
 Ferro China Baliva promoted successfully in Italy...

Iron Amaro:
#TOTC2016
2016
...and abroad, including Kaliningrad, Russia

Iron Amaro Philip Duff Fulvio Piccinino

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