LAST CALL Exclusive: Amaro San Simone Is Coming to America
Exciting News About My Favorite "Suitcase Bottle" from Italy
Amaro San Simone Is Coming to America
Turin, the first capital of the United Kingdom of Italy, is home to many iconic brands— from Alfa Romeo, Maserati, FIAT, and Lancia to Lavazza, Bialetti, and Martini & Rossi. But except for maybe Juventus FC, there’s no greater sense of hometown pride on display among Turinese than their love for Amaro San Simone, a humble family-owned amaro that’s been a fixture of the city’s cultural life since 1960.
The story of San Simone dates back to 16th-century Turin when monks in the order of the brotherhood of San Simone in the Dora Grossa district (now Via Garibaldi) used their extensive knowledge of botany to create Depurativo San Simone, an ancient elixir that continued to be produced and sold for its medical properties in Turin pharmacies until the 1940s.
In 1953, Dr. Aldo Fechino acquired Antica Officina Farmaceutica, an old pharmacy in Turin, and spent several years meticulously researching and reformulating a pre-existing recipe of the monk-created elixir from 1583 to transform the medicinal tonic into a commercial bittersweet liqueur. The timing of Fechino’s new creation aligned with Italy’s post-World War II economic boom (“il miracolo economico Italiano”) and the cultural renaissance of la dolce vita.
In a country awash in amari, with producers found in every region of Italy, part of the continued allure of San Simone is its limited availability, primarily found only within Turin and Piedmont, while slowly expanding to the neighboring regions of Lombardy, Liguria, and Aosta Valley along with major cities like Milan and Rome. But without any advertising, marketing, or promotion, San Simone was essentially built on generations of word-of-mouth from loyal fans and supporters.
When I interviewed the late Dr. Fechino’s grandson Federico Fulcheri—who, with his father Ruggero Fulcheri, now represents the third generation of the family-owned business—in 2022 for PUNCH to learn more about the fascination around San Simone, he credited the amaro’s “identifying soul.”
“I believe what binds San Simone to the people of Turin is its philosophy,” said Fulcheri. “Turin has always been a city dedicated to passionate work, yet always maintained a low profile and a sober elegance. It’s always preferred substance to form and is used to creating excellence without spending too much time trying to convince someone that it is good. When you taste San Simone, you taste Turin.”