For us, Bràulio is the stuff of legends. A bitter liqueur with a unique history, combining our history and our culture. A symbol of who were are: simple and sincere but with an air of mystery.
Bràulio is a bitter liqueur which was created in Bormio more than 140 years ago. Its story began in the pharmacy of Dr Giuseppe Peloni, a great expert in aromatic herbs. In 1875, his son Francesco, also a pharmacist, who had inherited the same passion created Bràulio after several experiments. He only ever revealed the types of herbs or the quantities used to his son Attilio who, in 1936, published a precious booklet entitled “In Herbis Salus”, meaning ‘Health from Plants’, revealing part of the recipe for this much-loved liqueur. The secret was handed down from father to son and even today the original recipe is only known by Edoardo Tarantola Peloni: we know that the ingredients include a number of different medicinal herbs, including wormwood, juniper berries, yarrow and gentian root. As for the rest, it remains a closely guarded secret! Deep below the centre of Bormio are the fascinating cellars, filled with the enormous Slavonian oak barrels that are used to age the liqueur.
Bràulio products
The two best-known versions are the classic Amaro Bràulio, the bitter liqueur with its unmistakable aroma which, if you are lucky, you may catch a whiff of when wandering down Via Roma above the cellars, and Amaro Bràulio Riserva, a premium version produced in limited quantities. The Riserva is aged for longer and then filtered using a particularly delicate method which further enhances the aromatic herbs. In addition to the recipe, there are several other factors which make Bràulio so unique.
Interesting facts about Bràulio
The name is taken from Monte Bràulio, a mountain overlooking Bormio where many of the herbs used to make the cure used to be collected. The great Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio loved it, mentioning it in glowing terms in his letters.
In a knot in the wood of one of the barrels where the Bràulio is aged, a rather singular image appears, formed naturally over the years: a known who seems to be watching over the ageing process!
Well, that is about as much as we can tell you about Bràulio, the only thing that remains now is to come to Bormio and taste this famous liqueur for yourself.
