日本語版

Vecchio Amaro del Capo

ingredient / ingredient-vecchio-amaro-del-capo

ヴェッキオ・アマーロ・デル・カーポ

Vecchio Amaro del Capo is an Italian amaro brand made by Distillerie Caffo (Caffo 1915 Group) in Limbadi, Calabria. The company’s history is described as tracing its origins to Giuseppe Caffo (born 1865), who began distilling at the foot of Mount Etna. It is one brand within amaro, the general bitter/liqueur category under EU law.

Photographs (captions in Japanese)

A squat dark brown bottle with a cream trapezoid label reading "Vecchio Amaro del Capo", "Liquore d'Erbe di Calabria", and "CAFFO", with a coastline illustration. The background is a shelf with other bottles and metal cans

A bottle of Vecchio Amaro del Capo. Placed on a bar shelf alongside other bottles

Shown: N/A (branded bottle)Part / state: The whole unopened bottle, placed on a shelf at a bar or shop

Photo: Nicholas Gemini / CC BY-SA 3.0 / original image / ledger's original image

Scope and provenance of the photo

Identification: Identified as labelled in the source. Own work. The label text matches the description of Distillerie Caffo and Calabria in entities.csv. I opened the image and confirmed. The words "Vecchio Amaro del Capo", "Liquore d'Erbe di Calabria", and "CAFFO" on the label and an illustration of the Calabrian coast are clearly readable

Image shown: The original from Wikimedia Commons, reduced to 2400 px on the long side. No cropping or color changes. For display, a WebP capped at 1200 px wide is served; the ledger's original image can be checked from the link above.

On this page (7 sections)
  1. Overview
  2. Sources for this overview (2)
  3. Topic hubs
  4. Related entries (10)
  5. Composition and content (1)
  6. How processing and cooking change it (1)
  7. Culture (2)
↑

Reading the bitterness

Vecchio Amaro del Capo is an amaro brand made by Distillerie Caffo (Caffo 1915 Group) in Limbadi, Calabria, Italy. According to the producer’s official history, it began when master distiller Giuseppe Caffo started distilling marc at the foot of Mount Etna in the late 19th century. He bought a Sicilian distillery in 1915, and his son Sebastiano and others later reopened an old distillery in Limbadi, Calabria. This history is the company’s own account; no independent verification is presented.

The official site calls its recipe 『29種のハーブ・花・果実・根から成る唯一無二の秘伝レシピ』 (in translation: "a unique secret recipe of 29 herbs, flowers, fruits, and roots"). It names orange, anise, licorice, chamomile, and peppermint among the disclosed ingredients, while most ingredients remain undisclosed. On this page, the word 『bitter』 does not appear at all. Although the category name amaro derives from the Italian word for 『苦い』 (in translation: "bitter"), the producer’s own description emphasizes aromas and the variety of herbs without using the word for bitterness.

The official site also recommends serving it cold: 『-20℃という氷点下の冷たさで味わうのが最良であり、この温度でミント・アニス・リコリスをはじめとする全てのハーブがより強く感じられ、コクと味わいを与える』 (in translation: "It is best enjoyed icy cold at -20°C, when mint, anise, licorice, and all the herbs are perceived more strongly and give body and flavor"). The page provides no standardized sensory measurement supporting this change described as 『より強くなる』 (in translation: "becoming stronger"). This is only the producer’s recommendation for serving the drink.

Sources for this overview

  1. MASTER DISTILLERS FOR FOUR GENERATIONS

    Gruppo Caffo 1915 / / other / full text checked

    Checked for this overview: Used the producer’s official account of its history as support for paragraph 1.

  2. Capo's secrets – History, ingredients and awards of Vecchio Amaro del Capo

    Distilleria Caffo / / other / full text checked

    Checked for this overview: Used the absence of the word bitter as support for paragraph 2. / Used the recommendation to serve it cold as support for paragraph 3.

Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits

Composition and content (1)

Vecchio Amaro del Capo — composition: The official site states 『Twenty-nine herbs, flowers, fruits and roots from the wonderful land of Calabria all in one unique, inimitable, secret recipe.』, describing itself as a secret recipe using 29 herbs, flowers, fruits, and roots from Calabria. Among the disclosed ingredients are orange, anise, liquorice, chamomile, and peppermint.contextual

Scope: Vecchio Amaro del Capo's official site, the 『Capo's secrets』 page (the company's own account)

Note: Only 5 of the 29 ingredients are disclosed (orange, anise, liquorice, chamomile, peppermint). The rest are undisclosed.

Confirmed a statement that 29 herbs, flowers, fruits, and roots from the wonderful land of Calabria are combined in one unique, inimitable, secret recipe, to be enjoyed only icy cold at -20°C, and the list of ingredient names Orange / Anise / Liquorice / Chamomile / Peppermint.
Limitations: Checked the full page text; the word "bitter" does not appear even once. 24 of the 29 ingredients are undisclosed.
Source: Capo's secrets – History, ingredients and awards of Vecchio Amaro del Capo (Distilleria Caffo) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-vecchio-amaro-del-capo —has_composition→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-capo-composition / type: composition / updated: 2026-09-02

How processing and cooking change it (1)

Vecchio Amaro del Capo is prepared by: According to the official site, each herb used as an ingredient has its own harvest season and is harvested individually throughout the year. Maceration and infusion are described as taking place immediately at harvest 『収穫したての香りを捉え、各原料の官能的特性を保つため』 (in translation: "to capture freshly harvested aromas and preserve each ingredient’s sensory properties").contextual

Scope: The official Vecchio Amaro del Capo site (the company’s own account).

Confirmed a statement that each herb used to produce Vecchio Amaro del Capo has its own harvesting time and is therefore harvested 1 by 1 over the year, and that all macerations and infusions take place right at harvest to capture the freshest aromas and keep the organoleptic properties of each ingredient intact.
Limitations: The specific dates of harvest and the duration of maceration are not disclosed.
Source: Capo's secrets – History, ingredients and awards of Vecchio Amaro del Capo (Distilleria Caffo) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-vecchio-amaro-del-capo —is_prepared_by→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-capo-harvest-process / type: processing / updated: 2026-09-02

Culture (2)

Vecchio Amaro del Capo — history: According to the official history of the producer, Distillerie Caffo (Gruppo Caffo 1915), it began in the late 19th century when master distiller Giuseppe Caffo (born 1865) started distilling marc at the foot of Mount Etna. In 1915 he bought the distillery he had previously rented in Santa Venerina, near Catania, Sicily. His son Sebastiano and brothers who had returned from Australia are described as founding 『Fratelli Caffo - Distillerie di alcole, brandy e tartarici』 (in translation: "Caffo Brothers—Distilleries of alcohol, brandy, and tartaric products") and reopening an old distillery in Limbadi, Calabria.contextual

Scope: Sicily and Calabria, Italy; the official Distillerie Caffo site (the company’s own account).

Confirmed an account of a story more than 100 years old that began at the end of the 19th century, when master distiller Giuseppe Caffo started distilling marc at the foot of Mount Etna; in 1915, after running it for years on a rental basis, he took over an existing distillery in Santa Venerina, near Catania; the master-distiller tradition and craft passed from the founder Giuseppe to his son Sebastiano, who, with his brothers who had returned from Australia, set up the company "Fratelli Caffo" and reactivated an ancient distillery in Limbadi, Calabria.
Limitations: This is the company’s own account and has not been independently verified. It describes the history of the producer as a whole, not the history of the individual Vecchio Amaro del Capo brand.
Source: MASTER DISTILLERS FOR FOUR GENERATIONS (Gruppo Caffo 1915) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-vecchio-amaro-del-capo —has_history→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-capo-caffo-history / type: cultural / updated: 2026-09-02
Vecchio Amaro del Capo — reported preparation style: The official site states 『Vecchio Amaro del Capo is at its best when enjoyed icy cold. At a temperature of -20°C, mint, anise, liquorice and all herbs included in its exclusive recipe become stronger, giving body and taste to a truly unique pleasure.』 and recommends serving at -20°C.contextual

Scope: The official Vecchio Amaro del Capo site (the company’s own account).

Confirmed the full text of the sentence quoted above.
Limitations: No standardized sensory measurement is presented for the sensory change described as 『strongerになる』 (in translation: "becoming stronger").
Source: Capo's secrets – History, ingredients and awards of Vecchio Amaro del Capo (Distilleria Caffo) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-vecchio-amaro-del-capo —has_reported_preparation_style_of→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-capo-serving-temp / type: cultural / updated: 2026-09-02

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