This Blackberry Ratafià recipe ensures that wherever in the world you’re based and whatever your budget, you can still raise a toast to Italy’s rocky heart! You need to get in quick before the birds, deer, badgers and foxes treat themselves to these sweet juicy berries – all have a particular liking for them, and although I’d love to see them delicately munching, I haven’t ever come across one feasting on blackberries, but here’s hoping…
The recipe originates from Castel di Sangro, tucked away in L’Aquila’s bear country to the east of Pescasseroli. Its recent fame is more from Niko Romito, who has his 3-star Michelin restaurant Reale here, also winner of Italy’s Best Restaurant! It is the location of many a Napolitan skier in the winter months, but historically, its fame lay in providing the ancestral home to the 3rd house of Caesar.
Unlike Abruzzo’s more usual recipe for Cherry Ratafià, it doesn’t call for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo to be the base rather just alcohol. For those feeling the ‘pinch’ and without vines this is no doubt manna from heaven, as with a little bit of foraging, this could end up as a cheap but delicious liqueur ready to settle down with on a frosty Autumn day – oops evening! You do need to patiently wait 2 months from first going out picking your blackberries, ready for this to be drinkable.
Blackberry Ratafià Recipe
Ingredients
1kg Blackberries
1 Kg Sugar
1l of Alcohol
Method
Wash the blackberries in iced water, drain and leave to air dry.
Add the berries into a bowl and crush them, then mix in the sugar and alcohol.
Cover and steep for 3 weeks in a well-ventilated sunny room.
On the 3rd week, add 1/2 litre of boiled water, and allow the mixture to rest for 7 days.
Strain and bottle, but leave 1 month before drinking!!
Vocab Tip – More ~ Blackberries
View other recipes from Castel di Sangro (in Italian)
Author: Sam Dunham
Sam is a freelance SEO content creator and IGCSE Geography and English teacher in Rome. She also runs the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, sharing stories and insights about this captivating region. Alongside raising a teenager, Sam hosts guests at her family’s traditional home, the Little House of the Firefly in Abruzzo, offering a warm welcome and insider tips on local culture, food, and hidden gems.
