- Strega (liqueur)
Strega (or Liquore Strega), is an Italian
herb alliqueur produced since1860 by the S. A. Distilleria Liquore Strega inBenevento ,Campania ,Italy . Its yellow color comes from the presence ofsaffron in itsrecipe . Liquore Strega is 80 proof (40%) and among its approximately 70 herbalingredient s are mint andfennel . Strega is considered adigestif , meant for drinking after meals."Strega" has a similar appearance to Galliano (though less vibrantly yellow). It is slightly sweet, semi-viscous, and has a bold, complex flavor with strong minty or coniferous notes. Strega is used for flavoring "
torta caprese ", a type of cake.The name
"Strega" is the Italian word for "
witch " and since legends of witchcraft at Benevento date back to the time of the Lombard invasion, it was a natural choice of name for the liqueur. The liqueur is sometimes called "the witch" in the English-speaking world.The prize
The Premio Strega (Strega Prize), the most prestigious literary award in Italy today, was founded in 1947 by Guido Alberti, then owner of the company, together with his friends the writer Maria Bellonci and her husband Goffredo.
Popular culture references
In the movie "Made", directed by
Jon Favreau and starring Favreau andVince Vaughn , Vaughn's character (Ricky) orders a Strega in an Italian restaurant, only to be rebuffed by SeanP Diddy Combs' mob boss character (Ruiz) with the line "You having the witch after dinner? No class!" The waiter agrees with Ruiz that Strega is anapéritif . However, the waiter and Ruiz are wrong.On numerous occasions in the
novel The Godfather byMario Puzo ,Don Vito Corleone and his colleagues drink Strega.On
Days of our Lives , the villainStefano DiMera drinks Strega.References
* [http://www.strega.it/ Strega official site]
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