What is Ferro-China… An Italian tonic first made famous in the last decades of the 1800s by a Pharmacist from Milan named Bisleri and a Doctor from Rome named Baliva. Both men combined the pharmaceutical remedies of the bark of china (chinchona, used to make quinine) and iron citrate, an iron based salt, made from citric acid and iron sulfate, into a drinkable therapeutic, bitter tonic. Ferro-China is part of the Italian Amaro category, but lighter in color, body and alcohol than most other digestive, Amaro drinks.

Ferro-China also enjoyed an export boom to the US market during Prohibition. It was considered a pharmaceutical product and could be prescribed by Doctors. In Italy, a teaspoon a day was given by mothers to their children at that time to aid their growth.

Lazzaroni first started the production of Ferro-China in the late 1800s but discontinued production about 30 years ago. The family recipe was recreated this year.

With a herbal mocha coffee, and roasted chestnut aroma and a hint of vanilla with delicate spice overtone, this liqueur is traditionally enjoyed over ice as an aperitif, as a digestif after dinner and as a modifier in cocktails.