ABOUT

GINROSA APERITIVO

A Milanese legend takes on the bitter Big Boys

The name is a riff on “pink juniper,” but this is not a gin: It’s a classic Milanese apéritif bitters with a history going back more than 150 years. In the 1880s, when philanthropist and entrepreneur Annunciata Bournè took over operations of the Bottiglieria del Leone, a wine shop on Milan’s Piazza San Babilà, unaccompanied women were not allowed in bars like the famous Caffè Campari. So, Bournè not only made her place female-friendly—in fact, unaccompanied men were not allowed—she devised a new apéritif: one with a pink (rosa) hue and a more delicately balanced bitterness in comparison to the fiery Campari.

Despite their evident differences in the glass—Ginrosa contains less cinchona (quinine) than Campari, for one—the brands are nevertheless historically intertwined. Both brands’ namesake bars are still thriving in the heart of Milan, just a few hundred yards from one another, each touting its essential contribution to Italian aperitivo culture.

Annunciata Bournè and her grand family came from Oleggio Castello, in the Northern Piedmont province of Varese, where there is a street named for her. Thanks to her cousins, who at that time owned a fabbrica named Liquorificio Bournè, she was able to bottle and commercialize her proprietary aperitivo. The legend of Ginrosa Bitter started at that time, as it headlined the menu at the Ginrosa American Bar in Milan.

Both the Ginrosa formula and the bar itself were revised and refined in the decades that followed Bourné’s original breakthrough. The bar “officially” took the GINROSA name in 1931 and has been through four ownership changes since then, but it has never moved from its original location on Piazza San Babila. At the start of 2023, the DeLuca family, owners of the Ginrosa bar (and brand), signed a licensing agreement with drinks entrepreneur Stefano Di Dio, owner of Oscar.697 Vermouth, who has begun to relaunch Ginrosa worldwide.

But really, the correct term is probably “re-position.” Ginrosa has all the bona-fides, starting with its closely guarded, all-natural formula, which is still driven by conscientiously sourced pink juniper, cinchona, and other botanicals. In addition to its more restrained bitterness, there is also less sweetness to Ginrosa, making it a more subtle and versatile ingredient in cocktails as well as a more pleasurable sipper when taken on its own or with soda.

For all its history and authenticity, Ginrosa has yet to have its “moment” in the US market. But the time has come. For all of us who’ve wholeheartedly embraced aperitivo culture, this is the moment—the era of choice and nuance in the Bitters category is upon us!

KEY BRAND ATTRIBUTES

• No artificial colorings or flavors
• More balanced sweetness and bitterness relative to competitors
• A long and distinguished history in the heart of Milan