Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, Sicily, Italy

The Impressive Lesley Gracie does it again, crafting a delicious and delightfully simple blood orange Liqueur.

Built in 1963. the Girvan Distillery is a silent work horse. William Grant & Sons owns the South Ayrshire, Scotland, distillery. Somewhat famously, the distillery was built in a hurry due to a quarrel between William Grant & Sons and a supplier — Distillers Company Limited (DCL). From ground break to production was a short nine months. They produce several Single Malt, grain, and blended Whiskies there in addition to Hendrick’s Gins. The fabulous Spirits shine even though the distillery flies under the radar of the industry press.

We have a new living heroine — master distiller Lesley Gracie. Never heard of her? Well, that’s your loss. Ms. Gracie is the palate and discipline behind Hendrick’s Gin (a personal fav of ours). So respected is her talent that Girvan has built a special distillery on the grounds of Girvan just for her to work. She calls it The Gin Palace. And lest you think that the dominating quality of Hendricks was a one-off, here is Act 2 of her Spirits Symphony.

Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur is derived from grain Spirits and the essence of rare Sanguinello blood oranges grown on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily and picked at the peak of ripeness. The essential oils are extracted at the Agrumeria Corleone in Palermo to the strictest dictates of Ms. Gracie and bottled without artificial color.

Smartass Corner:
The Gin Palace is a real place. It looks like a living Steampunk museum with odd antique stills sealed in glass next to state-of-the-art laboratories. No public visits are allowed, but if they ever are we’ll be first in line.