美国国家公共电台 NPR The Favorite Drink Of Italian Grandpas Gets An American Revival

The Favorite Drink Of Italian Grandpas Gets An American Revival 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0006:16repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: 

In this season of overindulgence, some people will turn to the treadmill², others to Pepto-Bismol. Brad Thomas Parsons will reach for the bottle - specifically, a beverage³ that people have used as a digestive aid for centuries called amaro.

BRAD THOMAS PARSONS: It's actually bittersweet and herbal. And it's helping⁴ - the bittering agents in it are actually helping your digestion⁵ systems. So 4 out of 5 doctors may not agree with everything that's working in there...

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

PARSONS: ...But trust me.

SHAPIRO: Parsons has spent years digging into the history and culture of these drinks for his new book "Amaro: The Spirited World Of Bittersweet Herbal Liqueurs." He met us at a distillery here in Washington for a tasting. We'll get to that in a moment.

PARSONS: When I was in Italy researching the book and interviewing producers, I would go into stores. They would have walls floor-to-ceiling of all these different amaro that I couldn't get in the States.

SHAPIRO: If people listening to this are wondering, have I ever had an amaro? What are some of the most familiar specific names that people might recognize?

PARSONS: Fernet-Branca is probably one of...

SHAPIRO: Fernet-Branca's a little bit inside baseball. I would say even more common than Fernet-Branca...

PARSONS: OK.

SHAPIRO: ...Is Jagermeister.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

PARSONS: I was trying to, you know, elevate our conversation, Ari.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

PARSONS: But if I - yes, I will admit whether I knew it or not, Jagermeister was my first experience to amaro.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SHAPIRO: Parsons wanted us to have a slightly-more-grown-up amaro experience than the cliche⁶ Jagermeister shot at a college bar. Which is why he told us to meet him here, at a place called Don Ciccio & Figli.

FRANCESCO AMODEO: The company's called Don Ciccio & Figli.

SHAPIRO: It's an unassuming warehouse⁷ with mermaid⁸ silhouettes⁹ painted on the walls. The air smells like cinnamon, eucalyptus¹⁰ and lemon peel. There are wooden barrels and rows of glass bottles full of auburn liquid.

AMODEO: This is our actually little house, where we live and sleep and produce some unique products.

SHAPIRO: Francesco Amodeo owns this distillery. His family used to make amaro on the Amalfi Coast of Italy.

AMODEO: Our tradition started back in 1883. And our family...

SHAPIRO: Wow, 1883?

AMODEO: 1883. And my family closed the business in 1980 due to an earthquake.

SHAPIRO: The earthquake crushed the distillery that had been running for a century. Thirty years later, Amodeo reopened the Italian family business here in Washington.

AMODEO: What we're trying to do is to bring Italy around the world. And what we're trying to do personally is to bring D.C. around the world. Giving something else to talk about, not just politics or the current topics of the day. What's D.C. about? Oh, I can get great amaros in this city.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SHAPIRO: How much do you have to educate people on how to use this? Because if they buy a small batch¹¹ gin, they know how to make a gin and tonic¹² or a martini. How much do people know how to use an amaro?

AMODEO: I think now they're coming along. I was reading an interview from some Italian producers. They were thanking American people that started to use amaro differently. Because in Italy, you just drink that at the end of the meal. It's your grandpa or your father's shot.

SHAPIRO: Italians may just drink it as a shot at the end of the meal. Americans are using it more creatively, like in cocktails¹⁴.

Can you each recommend a cocktail¹³ using amaro that somebody might easily make at home?

AMODEO: Yeah. So we have this cocktail now it's, called the Alexis. It's just a blend of equal parts. So one ounce each of bourbon, Amaro delle Sirene and then Nocino, which is our walnut¹⁵ liqueur. So you can just simply mix them and stir them on ice and serve it either up or on the rocks with an orange twist.

SHAPIRO: Brad, do you want to recommend a cocktail?

PARSONS: Yeah. I would say amaro and tonic and a lime was what I was drinking all summer for my pre-dinner drink.

SHAPIRO: Enough talking, should we try some tasting?

PARSONS: Yeah.

SHAPIRO: Parsons takes us to a table with about a dozen unopened bottles, each with an eye-catching label. These come from the Italian coast, the Swiss Alps even, Charleston, S.C. And here's where it gets a bit hazy¹⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SHAPIRO: Amaro Nonino, Lucano, Sfumato. I mean, it's like you just want to pronounce these names.

PARSONS: For me this is a medium amaro, so I like to call like a Goldilocks amaro.

SHAPIRO: OK. Let me taste this. Herbal, slightly spicy¹⁷, a little bit bitter.

PARSONS: This is a specific style. Rabarbaro, which means...

SHAPIRO: Rabarbaro is the name of this style?

PARSONS: Rhubarb is usually a key ingredient.

SHAPIRO: Oh, my - this is like not - none of - this is totally different from the other things we've tasted so far.

PARSONS: So try this.

SHAPIRO: And this one really looks cloudy.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SHAPIRO: Before we left, Brad Thomas Parsons wanted to show us one last amaro, a tiny bottle wrapped in paper called under Underberg.

PARSONS: Underberg is a German digestif. It's been around since 1846. And then essentially¹⁸ we're going to take a simple bar straw, stick it in there and take it down in one suck, so to speak.

SHAPIRO: All right. Brad, Francesco, are you going to join me and do this? What do you say when you're toasting with amaro?

PARSONS: I say stay bitter.

SHAPIRO: Stay bitter.

PARSONS: It's like a wild toboggan ride.

(LAUGHTER)

SHAPIRO: That was Brad Thomas Parsons, author of the book "Amaro: The Spirited World Of Bittersweet Herbal Liqueurs," with cocktails, recipes and formulas. Also, Francesco Amodeo, owner of the D.C. distillery Don Ciccio & Figli. Who, by the way, says he can't keep any of his amaro in stock.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SHAPIRO: (Sighs).

PARSONS: See? You're feeling bright and alert.

SHAPIRO: Wow. Yeah. Good thing I don't have to accomplish anything else today.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。

3 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 digestion   

n.消化，吸收

参考例句：

• This kind of tea acts as an aid to digestion.这种茶可助消化。
• This food is easy of digestion.这食物容易消化。

6 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

7 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

8 mermaid   

n.美人鱼

参考例句：

• How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起，那个女孩会有多受欢迎！
• The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴，因为她等不及了。

9 silhouettes   

轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影

参考例句：

• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• They could see silhouettes. 他们能看得见影子的。

10 eucalyptus   

n.桉树，桉属植物

参考例句：

• Eucalyptus oil is good for easing muscular aches and pains.桉树油可以很好地缓解肌肉的疼痛。
• The birds rustled in the eucalyptus trees.鸟在桉树弄出沙沙的响声。

11 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

12 tonic   

n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的

参考例句：

• It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
• Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。

13 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

14 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

15 walnut   

n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色

参考例句：

• Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
• The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸，材质分胡桃木和红木两种。

16 hazy   

adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的

参考例句：

• We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。
• I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

17 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。