When Gabriele Persichetti of Anonima Distillazioni told me, “Giacomo, the master distiller, will be here shortly,” I imagined a man with white hair and a long beard walking through the door of the distillery.
Alright, I admit it — I haven’t visited many distilleries, so perhaps my imagination was a bit off. But seeing Giacomo Faramelli walk in still made an impression on me. Giacomo perfectly embodies the spirit of Anonima Distillazioni: a mountain wanderer, a forager of wild herbs, someone who, once he has created a product, immediately begins searching for inspiration to make another.
He talks about his still as if it were an extension of his body and mind. And indeed, his still is the perfect instrument for expressing his creativity and bringing all his research to fruition. The still used by Anonima Distillazioni is a manual one, handcrafted by a company in Monteriggioni, and it is one of the few stills of this type in Italy.
The raw materials follow the rhythm of the seasons and therefore constantly change. The distillation process, carried out manually every single time, becomes an expression of the master distiller’s craft — without any form of automation.
We have already spoken about Anonima Distillazioni both on our site and on Vinodabere.it, but we have never mentioned one particular aspect: this distillery operates much like a kitchen. Yes, like a kitchen — because it is possible to request a “custom recipe” and have it distilled by the “chef,” Giacomo Faramelli
