Distillery creates grappa specifically for tiramisu - Dining and Cooking

Dieci e Lode is an Italian grappa created by Distilleria Castagner to complement the flavours of tiramisu.

The grappa has notes of cocoa and roasted coffee, like a tiramisu

Roberto Castagner and his team of master distillers lead Distilleria Castagner.

Castagner was inspired to create the grappa after a study by the Italian Federation of Public Establishments ranked tiramisu as the most popular product on international menus.

The 38% ABV grappa is barrique-aged, which gives the liquid its vanilla and ripe apricot notes. Furthermore, it offers notes of cocoa, roasted coffee, wood, dark chocolate, cinnamon, and pepper, along with a hint of leather and tobacco characteristic of Castagner’s Riserva Cuvée 30.

Castagner believes this profile perfectly complements the sensory characteristics of tiramisu.

“Although our company boasts a range of 288 different grappas,” he explained, “none of them directly met my goal of creating a product capable of enhancing the aromas of both of these local specialities.

“We decided to highlight this dessert, which is Treviso-based like our company, and which continues to transcend national borders, increasingly establishing itself as an undisputed symbol of Italian cuisine, by honouring it at the Tiramisu World Cup.

“This will further contribute to the promotion of our region by creating a new tradition of regional pairing.”

Castagner launched Dieci e Lode at this year’s Tiramisù World Cup, which is held annually in Treviso, Italy, in October.

Tiramisu World Cup organiser Francesco Redi added: “It’s crucial for us to find partners who bring added value to the event in terms of creativity, quality, and connection to the local area.

“Roberto Castagner, with his grappa, has created something that wasn’t there before and has managed to unite two deeply rooted traditions in the Treviso area: on the one hand, the passion for tiramisu as a ‘homemade’ dessert and, on the other, grappa as a finishing touch. We hope to help him promote this pairing as a new classic of Treviso.”