Follow us for the very latest news and events!
Facebook : Tempus Fugit Spirits
Twitter: @TFSpirits
Update: April 2013 - For Establishments and Distributors that carry Gran Classico Bitter, please go to our Where to Buy maps on www.tfspirits.com
Try a Negroni with Gran Classico Bitter! See more great cocktails below!
- December 2012 - Washington State distributor Pilchuck Distributors Inc.
- August 2012 - For Gran Classico Bitter and Kina l'Avion d'Or in Italy, contact www.Velier.it
- April 2012 - New California distributor Wine Warehouse!
- April 2012 - Texas distribution with Pioneer Wine Company!
- Gran Classico nominated for Spirit of the Year at the pretigious Bar Convent Berlin 2011!
- Gran Classico is now the bitter of choice in San Francisco's best bars, when you order a Negroni - order one made with the 'traditional' bitter and one made with Gran Classico and YOU make the decision!
- Gran Classico in Europe - Due to overwhelming demand by top international bartenders France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the UK are now serving Gran Classico!
- Retailers and Bars, please be sure to contact your local distributor (see our map at: www.tfspirits.com) to assure your allocation...See news articles below!
- Gran Classico now available in California, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, Washington DC, Oregon, Illinois, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Washington State.
The Spirit Journal’s 130 Best Spirits in the World 2010 : Selected
The Spirit Journal’s 13 Best Five Star Liqueurs and Absinthes for 2010 : Top Bitter (only one chosen)
The Spirit Journal June 2010 : Five Stars - Highest Recommendation Paul Pacult's review: "Tawny color... Aroma comes out swinging in grand herbal/root style, with special focus on rhubarb; aeration stimulates more of the orange peel and yet there is an alluring rooty/gentian bittersweetness that’s immensely appealing. Entry is all about the rhubarb upfront, then in midpalet the gentian dominates before the orange peel comes rushing back in the finish as well as a piny/resiny quality that makes the aftertaste smashingly delicious. Campari drinkers take note: the ultimate expression of Bitter."
European Importers/Distributors:
ITALY - Velier www.velier.it/
UNITED KINGDOM - The Whisky Exchange/World of Fine Spirits www.thewhiskyexchange.com/
FRANCE - La Maison du Whisky (LDMW Fine Spirits) www.whisky.fr
GERMANY - Absinthe.de/Lion-Spirits www.absinthe.de/LION-SPIRITS
SWITZERLAND - Matter-Luginbühl AG www.erlebnisbrennerei.ch/
Gran Classico PRESS:
April/May 2013
Esquire Magazine - Why the Aperitif? by David Wondrich
"If, perish the thought, Campari is too wimpy for you, there's Gran Classico Bitter ($33),
which is darker, more bitter, more vegetal, and even higher in alcohol..."
The Negrande - A fighty Negroni
1 oz high-proof gin (such as Old Raj, Hayman's Royal Dock, or Perry's Tot)
1 oz Gran Classico Bitter
1 oz Dolin blanc or Martini & Rossi Bianco sweet white vermouth
Stir with cracked ice.
Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe and
twist a swatch of thin-cut orange peel over the top.
December 2012
Serious Eats - The 16 Prettiest Drinks of 2012
Gran Classico Bitter makes it into two of the prettiest cocktails and on two coasts!
#11 - Shibui at Neta, NYC
#12 - The Leather Canary at Kask in Portland, OR
September 2012
San Francisco Cocktail Week - The Artisan Tasting
Gran Classico and portfolio friends wow the crowd at this sold-out, small producer event.
White Negroni - Erik Ellestad's "Savoy Stomp"
"To me a negroni cocktail, more than being the exact recipe of equal parts, is about a certain balance of rich, strong, sweet, and very bitter. The only cocktail here which approaches those qualities is the last with the Grand Classico and Kina l’Avion.
On the other hand, if you can change the vermouth and have a Dry, Sweet, or Perfect Manhattan or Martini, why can’t the same apply to the Negroni?"
August 2012
Cocktail of the Week: The Hardest Walk
2 oz Carpano Punt e Mes Vermouth
1 oz Plantation Overproof Rum
1/8 oz Gran Classico Bitter
2 dashes Regans' Orange Bitters
Stir 30 times and strain over fresh ice into a double old-fashioned glass. Express an orange peel over the top and garnish.
Gran Classico now in Italy... The return of the Bitter of Turin!
March 2012
Review: Gran Classico
February 2012
Carpano Antica Formula, Campari, Gran Classico Bitter, and The Negroni
"Used in a Negroni, the contrast is also pronounced. With the Campari, there’s a grassy sweet bitterness, “like eating orange pith.” With the Gran Classico Bitter, the balance and complexity really shines. The final product is not as bitter as the Campari version. It’s a bit sweeter and smoother. It’s a lot richer. The complexity is worlds beyond the original. The drink is contemplative and full of intrigue, and yet it doesn’t abandon its genetic similarity. This is still a Negroni, albeit the best one possible..."
5@5 - Bitter drinks for Valentine's Day
An interview with Jeff Faile, bar manager of Fiola in Washington, D.C.
"...2. Negroni
The true classic bitter drink. This old Italian aperitif is traditionally done with gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. I love to do mine a little differently. There’s still gin and sweet vermouth, but I prefer Gran Classico in place of the Campari. If you’re lucky enough to find a bottle of it, switch it over in your Negroni and give your cocktail another level and depth of bitterness. You’ll be glad you did...."
October 2011
Bar Convent Berlin - October 10-11
Gran Classico Bitter was nominated for Spirit of the Year at Germany’s most influential spirit and cocktail salon.
September 2011
GQ Magazine France
LES NOUVEAUTÉS DU WHISKY LIVE 2011
Gran Classico Bitter honored to be among the 6 new or limited addition spirits featured by GQ at Whisky Live Paris.
August 2011
The Feast.com
Food & Wine's Kate Krader and Jim Meehan of PDT Talk 2011 Cocktail Trends
Bitters and Scandinavian ingredients are discussed and Jim makes the cocktail with Gran Classico.
July 2011
Inside F&B
BARTENDERS BATTLE IT OUT AT NOLA FISHOUSE
Gran Classico sponsored this epic Tales of the Cocktail 2011 ‘Spirited Dinner’.
May 2011
Examiner.com
Barbaro’s Tale: an inspired Kentucky Derby Cocktail
SheKnows
Negroni d’Or Cocktail
April 2011
Culinate
Beer cocktails today: Ale à la Française
February 2011
the kitchin
Love Campari? It's Time to Try Gran Classico
December 2010
San Francisco Examiner
It’s a good time to visit Clock Bar
Gran Classico featured in the favorite cocktail:
“All Our Sweetest Hours” (scroll down to recipes)
Food and Wine Magazine
Unique Gift Ideas: Season's New Spirits.
“Gran Classico Bitter ($30) Mixologists are creating smart riffs on the Negroni using this newly imported, Campari-like Swiss aperitivo...”
November 2010
SF Gate.com - San Francisco Chronicle on-line
No-stress guide to holiday wines (and Spirits)
"Gran Classico Bitter ($32): If you took Campari, made it more compelling and filtered it through a 19th century prism, you'd wind up with this bitter liqueur, made by a Swiss distillery from an original Turin recipe. No surprise it is rewriting the standard for Negronis throughout the Bay Area, where it has quickly gained prominence, thanks to local importer Tempus Fugit."
The Washington Post.com
Shaking up the cocktail scene
...At the Passenger, the sky's the limit, but Bookless loves creating variations on Manhattans and experimenting with drinks with bitter Italian liqueurs. "I'll be drinking Negronis made with Gran Classico," an earthy, orangy aperitif...
The Conscious Cocktail
Wry and Bitter
This Is A Cocktail Blog. Tales from the Whistler, Chicago.
Torino Fizz
SF Gate.com - San Francisco Chronicle on-line
New bitters,...,Liqueur de Violettes
October 2010
Dining Chicago.com
Introducing 'The Underground Mixologists', featuring Josh Pearson's cocktail with Gran Classico: 'Two in the Hand'.
Wine & Spirits Magazine - Special Fall Issue
In the article 'The New Cocktail - Less is More', writer David Lynch features our friends the Bon Vivants, Scott Baird and Josh Harris. In their 7 bottle 'desert island' short list of must-have aperitifs, Gran Classico Bitter was chosen.
SF Gate.com - San Francisco Chronicle on-line
Latest cocktail trend is to low-alcohol drinks by Camper English
The Wall Street Journal Online
Tasting California Wine Country "I sat down at Spoonbar, the hotel restaurant, with winemaker David Ramey and ordered a negroni, which Scott(Beattie) makes with Ransom Old Tom gin from Oregon, Carpano Antica vermouth, and something called Gran Classico Bitter...It was probably the best negroni I’ve ever had, and this is my default cocktail, not least because it doesn’t blast the palate prior to the inevitable wine."
September 2010
Underhill Lounge
Erik Ellestad creates the "Eighteenth Cocktail"
Nightcapped - Adventures in Cocktailing
The Columbia Room, Washington DC
Negroni Sbagliato. This “wrong” Negroni, developed at the Bar Basso in Milano, replaces gin with sparkling wine, and Campari with Gran Classico, an Italian bitter, that is wonderfully bitter with a slight sweetness. Finish it off with Carpano Antica and I was in cocktail seventh heaven.
San Francisco Bay Guardian Online
New twists on the Negroni challenge the original by Virginia Miller "Those who know me well are aware of my love of the Negroni...My typically adventurous palate sees no reason to vary from a traditional, already perfect Negroni recipe, but the skilled bartenders in our fair city and the makers of a brilliant new product, Gran Classico Bitter have been opening my eyes in recent months to other Negroni vistas."
Liquor.com
One for the Road: Bartenders’ Bars: The Passenger, 1021 Seventh Street Northwest, Washington, D.C -What to Drink: Gran Classico Negroni (Old Raj Gin, Gran Classico Bitter, Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth)
August 2010
Zester Daily by Jordan MacKay
The Beauty of Bitter -Gran Classico: This awesome aperitif is fairly new to the market, but will create a splash. Now manufactured in Switzerland (thanks to California-based importer Tempus Fugit Spirits)...
Humid Beings of New Orleans - Post Tales...
swag...my most prized score
Oh Gosh! Jay Hepburn's Cocktail Blog
Gran Classico Bitters
The Spirit Monkey - James E. Hensley's Cocktail Blog
Gran Classico Bitter
Hand Of Glory
2 oz. Diplomatico Anejo Rum
.75oz Punt e Mes
.25 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
.25 oz Gran Classico
13 Drops Fee’s Whiskey Barrel Bitters
Stir, Strain, and serve on the rocks. Garnish with orange peel expressed over the drink and then inserted in the glass.
July 2010
Stirred, not Shaken
Negroni + Amaro = Negromaro There is going to be a tendency for people in the cocktail business who stress the importance of natural flavors and traditional (non-industrial) processes to simply embrace Gran Classico...
Served Raw.com
Spike Your Iced Tea - Top 7 apertifs, liqueurs and digestifs
Riverfront Times (St. Louis)
Bon Appétit Names Taste by Niche one of the Top 10 Best New Cocktail Bars What is (Ted)Kilgore drinking to celebrate the honor? Gran Classico Bitter and Wild Turkey: "A few of my favorite things."
SF Weekly
Gran Classico: An Ancient Liqueur Comes Back
June 2010
The Institute for Cocktail Excellence
The Negroni - Mixology Hall of Fame
Jamie Boudreau, ICE Master Judge - quote:
"I prefer mine a little gin heavy so:
1 1/2 oz gin (any good brand: Beefeater, Plymouth depends on the mood)
1 oz Sweet vermouth (Dolin is preferred, but again any good brand: Carpano, Cinzanno, etc)
3/4 oz Campari - or even better - Gran Classico Bitter
Serve it on the rocks in the summer and straight up in the winter.
Orange twist if you please!"
Tasting Table San Francsico
Wound Up "For cocktail geeks, this(Gran Classico Bitter) is like having a copy of the first issue of the Superman comics," notes (Scott)Baird.
Mark Sexauer's Cocktail Blog
Gran Classico Bitters
San Francisco Examiner
Comstock Saloon:
Mixologist: Comstock Saloon’s got one serious bartender.
Grub Street San Francisco
What to Drink at Spoonbar - Scott Beattie’s New Home in Healdsburg
Featured Cocktail: Tempus Fugit
Westbourne Strength Gin, Carpano Antica Vermouth, Gran Classico, Orange Zest
Chow.com
Bringing Gran Classico Bitter Back
Imbibe Magazine
Imbibe Unfiltered: Gran Classico Bitter -Drink of the Week
Some great, original recipes created by talented friends:
The Negrande - A fighty Negroni
1 oz high-proof gin (such as Old Raj, Hayman's Royal Dock, or Perry's Tot)
1 oz Gran Classico Bitter
1 oz Dolin blanc or Martini & Rossi Bianco sweet white vermouth
Stir with cracked ice.
Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe and
twist a swatch of thin-cut orange peel over the top.
David Wondrich - Esquire Magazine April/May 2013
Vienna by Train
1 oz Gran Classico Bitter
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
Shake well to blend and chill.
Strain into a Collins glass filled most of the way up with cracked ice.
Top with:
2 oz seltzer, tonic water, or sparkling mineral water
Squeeze in the juice from one orange wedge and stir lightly to blend.
Garnish with the orange wedge.
Optionally, serve with a straw.
Created by Chris Bostick, The Varnish, LA - now creating in Austin, TX
Black Dahlia
1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
1/4 oz Gran Classico Bitter
1/4 oz Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur
1 1/2 oz Knob Creek Bourbon
Stir on ice.
Strain into Coupe.
No garnish.
Created at The People's Last Stand, Dallas, Texas
A Bitter Story
3 cl Gran Classico Bitter
3 cl Tempus Fugit Fernet del Frate Angelico
3 cl Tequila reposado
2 cl Fresh lemon juice
1 cl Sirop de Capillaire (or Sirop d'Agave)
5 small mint leaves -
slapped and added to shaker.
Shake with ice, strain into tall glass with crushed ice.
Garnish with mint leaves.
Created for the 9th Annual French Trophée du Bar 2012
Rosso Scarlatto
2 cl Mescal
2 cl Dry Fino Sherry
2 cl Crème de Cassis
1 cl Gran Classico Bitter
1 cl Fresh Lemon Juice
Stir with ice, strain into a chilled, stemmed glass
Garnish with Orange zest
Both cocktails created by Carlos Madriz
Le Mary Celeste – Paris
The Haberdasher
1 part Gran Classico
1 part Carpano Antica Vermouth
1 part Amontillado Sherry
2 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a coupe.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Created by The Bon Vivants, San Francisco
Hottentot
1 1/2 oz Lillet
1/4 oz Gran Classico
1dash Angostura orange
2 oz Fever Tree bitter lemon
On the rocks with lemon twist.
Created by Anu Apte, Rob Roy, Seattle
Torres del Paine
2 oz Pisco
1⁄2 oz Gran Classico
1⁄2 oz Cynar
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
1 twst Lemon peel (swath, muddled)
1 twst Orange peel (swath, muddled)
Muddle peel in low-ball glass, add ice, build, stir
Created by Dan Chadwick, Kindred Cocktails
Col du Sabion
1 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz Lillet Rouge
½ oz Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
¼ oz Gran Classico Bitter
3 oz Fever Tree Bitter Lemon soda
Build over ice and shake. Serve on the rocks in a highball glass.
Top with soda and garnish with a thick twist of orange peel.
Created by Jacqueline Patterson, Brand Ambassador at William Grant & Sons
Kissing the Gunner's Daughter
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Fig infused El Dorado 12 Year Rum (5 day infusion)
1 oz Gran Classico Bitter
1 rough piece (size of a Quarter) of 85% Dark Chocolate
Put all ingredients into an ice filled mixing pitcher.
Stir to incorporate.
Pour into Coupe Glass.
Drop in dark chocolate piece as garnish.
Created by: Aaron Butler, Russell House Tavern, Cambridge, MA for
Cointreau and SAVEUR’s 2011 Mix-off Competition
The Dunwich Nightcap
1 1/2 oz Laphroig
3/4 oz Gran Classico Bitter Liqueur
3/4 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1 dash each of Angostura and Peychaud’s Bitters
Stir and Serve Up
Express lemon oil over the top to finish
Created by Brian McCracken
Tavern Law, Seattle
All Our Sweetest Hours
1 oz. McCallan Cask-Strength single-malt Scotch
½ oz. Mitchter’s US1 Rye whiskey
¾ oz. honey
½ oz. Gran Classico Bitters
1/8 muddled Bosc pear
½ oz. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Muddle pear with bitters and lemons. Add other ingredients in a glass and shake over ice. Double-strain over ice.
Created by Clock Bar, San Francisco
Wry and Bitter
3/4 oz Krogstad Aquavit
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz Gran Classico Bitter
3/4 oz blueberry-infused Krogstad Aquavit
Stir all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass.
Strain into a cocktail coupe and lightly spray with grapefruit zest.
Garnish with a grapefruit twist.
Created by Sharon Floyd
Iris, New Orleans
Two in the Hand
2-1/2 oz. Famous Grouse-Blended Scotch
3/4 oz. Gran Classico Bitter
3/4 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
3 dashes Angostura
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir well.
Rinse a cocktail glass with Ardbeg 10-year scotch.
Strain cocktail into rinsed cocktail glass and garnish with an orange twist.
Created by Josh Pearson
Sepia, Chicago
Kingston Negroni
1 oz. Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum
1 oz. Gran Classico Bitter
3/4 oz. Carpano Antica Vermouth
Stir and strain.
Created by Joaquin Simo
Death & Company, New York City
Negroni d’Or
1 1/2 oz. G' Vine Nouasion Gin
1/2 oz. Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/2 oz. Gran Classico Bitter
Stir ingredients gently with ice and strain into a chilled sherry glass.
Created by Brian MacGregor
Jardiniere, San Francisco
Aquavit Negroni
1 oz. North Shore Aquavit
1 oz. Carpano Antica Vermouth
1 oz. Gran Classico Bitter
1 large piece lemon peel
Add ice to a cocktail shaker, then the aquavit, vermouth and
Gran Classico Bitter. Stir about 15 times. Strain.
Created by Scott Baird
15 Romolo, San Francisco
The Eighteenth
2 oz. Rye
3/4 oz. Dolin Blanc
1/2 oz. Gran Classico Bitter
1 barspoon Luxardo Maraschino
Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Squeeze lemon peel over glass and drop in.
Created by Erik Ellestad
Heaven's Dog and The Alembic- San Francisco
Old Pal
1/2 oz. Gran Classico Bitter
1 oz. Dry Vermouth
2 oz. Bourbon
Stir and serve over ice in a double old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a flamed orange peel.
Created by Jonny Raglin
Comstock Saloon, San Francisco
The Swing Line
1 1/2 oz. Bols Genever
3/4 oz. Leopold Brothers New York Sour Apple Liqueur
1/2 oz. Gran Classico Bitter
Stir with ice and serve with lemon zest.
Created by Chase Osthimer
15 Romolo, San Francisco
Negroni Classico
1 oz. Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Gran Classico Bitters
1 oz. Carpano Antica
1/4 oz. Agave Syrup (optional)
Stir, Strain into Old Fashioned glass over ice.
Garnish with large grapefruit zest.
Created by Mark Sexauer
Whiskey Negroni
1 oz Rye whiskey (or Bourbon)
1 oz Gran Classico Bitter
1 oz Sweet vermouth, such as Carpano
Ice, orange twist, for garnish
Created by Chow.com