Corretto is a coffee and anise distillate.
Corretto was inspired by the Italian custom of drinking espresso with Sambuca- sweet, anise-flavored liqueur, the combination known as Caffe Corretto, or proper, “corrected” coffee.
A wish to make coffee-flavored spirit came during our first meeting with Matija Hrkać, one of the owners of Cogito Coffee Roasters from Zagreb. He found our distillery (at that point still in the making) through Mitosaya Botanical Distillery he read about in a magazine. Since we spent the month of April 2019 in Mitosaya, as apprentices, he was curious about our story and our plans. During our first meeting at the Cogito Roastery, the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans was so intoxicating that we had to try recreating it in a distillate.
For our first batch, we took the Ethiopia sort, recommended by Matija for its sweetness. This coffee is collected by farmers in the Buku Sayisa region, at a high altitude of 2,350 meters above sea level, and purchased under fair trade conditions. From Paul Newcomb, Cogito’s roaster, we found out that the high altitude plays an important role in the richness of flavor.
With that coffee, a fragrant distillate came out of the still, surprising us with its sweet coffee flavor, so true to the original. In combination with anise, its smell reminded of a just-opened chocolate box. On the palate, the dominant flavor is sweetness and freshness of anise. Slowly and almost unnoticeably, the sweetness of anise turns into sweetness characteristic to Ethiopia coffee, which stays lingering as an aftertaste.
We recommend this drink to be served at room temperature (15 to 20°C), preferably after the meal, as a substitute for coffee or alongside espresso.
