Our Italian Bitter

At the time of Carlo Anselmo, most of the Italian liquorists produced their own Bitter. This liquor was called Bitter Italiano or Bitter Milano. It is different from the Dutch and the Swiss Bitter, not only  for the recipe, but also because it had a lower alcohol content and a typical ruby red color, that characterizes it even today. In the famous manual Liquorista pratico by Luigi Sala (1897) you can find the three recipes compared:

An example of how famous the Italian Bitter was at the beginning of the XX century, is its presence in this list, dated 1920:

The Vermouth di Torino and the Bitter di Milano finally met and from their union the famous Milano-Torino cocktail was born, which recipe is as simple as unique:

3 cl of Bitter Italiano
3 cl of Vermouth Anselmo Rosso

Prepare it directly in a low tumbler and decorate with a slice of orange.