Store the grappa in the fridge is it a mistake? Generally yes, because the ideal serving temperature fluctuates between 18 degrees for long aging products, up to 8-10 at most for non-aged products. However, this rule does not seem to apply to the new born at home Castagner, famous trademark of Treviso distillation: Grandi Cru Prosecco Ice in fact, it appears as the first grappa designed specifically to be consumed cold, just extracted from the kitchen refrigerator.

The stated goal, as it tells the same Roberto Castagner is to offer something new and summery, playing on the floral and above all fruity scents of glera, the grape from which the famous Prosecco originates. «Today the concept of grappa is changing rapidly, and partly thanks to us: we make it a product to drink even with the nose, to be contemplated, even more fruity and soft. Precisely for this reason the Grandi Cru Prosecco Ice, which comes from a work of over 3 years, is also perfect in combination with the most summery desserts, tasted cold. Exactly like white wine .

The first bottles are already on the market, and will be sold until October. Their key feature? Being covered by a real one neoprene thermal wetsuit, midnight blue and reusable, designed to preserve the ideal temperature of grappa for tasting for up to 3 hours out of the fridge. Which is attested, precisely, between 3 and 5 degrees. The company suggests to try it in combination with summer fruit or desserts, after a barbecue in the company, a fish dinner or an open-air picnic. The most curious may even want to use it as special ingredient to give an extra edge to your fruit salad: so here is a very simple recipe to reinvent even a diced melon. Together with an unprecedented mascarpone mousse and some advice to prepare very fragrant apricot and cinnamon jars, using grappa as a secret ingredient.

Melone alla Grappa

Ingredients

2 small melons
the juice and peel of 2 untreated lemons
4 tablespoons of sugar
6 cl of grappa Grandi Cru Prosecco Ice (about two glasses)

Method

Clean the melons by removing the skin and the seeds and cut the pulp into cubes. In a pan, prepare a syrup by combining the sugar, lemon zest and two glasses of water. Boil 10 minutes, add the diced melon and remove from heat.
Once the whole is well cooled, drain the melon, place it in a bowl and flavor with the lemon juice and grappa. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve, decorating with a few mint leaves.

Mascarpone mousse flavored with grappa with berries

Ingredients

400 g of Mascarpone
3 eggs
6 tablespoons of sugar
4 tablespoons grappa Grandi Cru Prosecco Ice
1 vanilla pod
250 grams of wild berries to taste

Method

Separate the yolks from the whites and whisk them until they are stiff. Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is thick and fluffy. Add the grappa, the mascarpone softened with a spatula and the vanilla to the whipped yolks, stirring until a smooth and homogeneous cream is obtained. Gently fold in the egg whites from the bottom upwards, being careful not to disassemble the mixture.
Let the mousse rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Meanwhile wash the berries and place them on absorbent paper to dry the water well. Arrange in cups alternating mascarpone mousse and wild berries. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve and decorate with icing sugar and mint leaves.

Jar of apricots with grappa and cinnamon

Ingredients

10 small, firm apricots, not too ripe
3 cinnamon sticks 2-3 cm high
4 tablespoons of sugar
150 ml of water
Grappa Grandi Cru Prosecco Ice

Method

Wash and dry the apricots, divide them in two and remove the stones. In a saucepan prepare the syrup by dissolving the sugar in the water over high heat and simmering for a couple of minutes. Lower the heat and immerse the apricots leaving them to soak in a sweet flame for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let it cool.
Arrange the apricots in an airtight jar previously sterilized in boiling water or in the oven, alternating with cinnamon. Drizzle with the syrup and cover completely with the grappa.
Leave to rest in a dark and cool place for at least a week.