Poli Miele Acacia Honey Liqueur
Poli Miele is a liqueur based on the Italian spirit Grappa alongside acacia honey and essential oils from mugo pine, juniper, mint and lemon verbena. Poli started distilling this Acacia Honey infused Grappa back in 1982 when a local beekeeper shared a new recipe with the team that was much different from the ones generally used to produce similar products. Piero, the beekeeper, is now in his eighties and is just so energetic: he says it's because he's had a spoonful of honey and propolis twice a day, everyday, ever since he was a little child. He's still personally grazing his bees, moving the hives throughout the whole "Pedemontana Veneta" (the Veneto Foothills) according to the time when flowers are blooming. In the case of Poli Miele. pure Acacia flower honey is added to distilled Grappa, and for every litre of Grappa a third of a litre of honey is added, which means that honey makes up for nearly a third of the whole bottle. After adding honey to the Grappa, a further 4 essential oils are infused, obtained from the distillation of the following plants: Juniper berries, Mint leaves, Mugo pine needles and Lemon Verbena. This is how they balance the sweetness coming from the honey: with a fresh, balsamic note. The result is a "Grappa-based liqueur" (because of its 35% alcohol content, by law it cannot be called a Grappa) featuring aromatic scents of meadow in bloom and alpine wood, sweet but not too intense, to be enjoyed nice and chilled or as ingredient perfectly suited to many cocktails.
