The Many Saints (and Sinners) of Greenpoint
"'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, that's life."
Benvenuto to the hundreds of new subscribers who signed up for LAST CALL over the weekend after my guest appearance on the David Lebovitz Podcast. David recently stopped by the BTP Test Kitchen (aka my apartment in Brooklyn) to talk about French and Italian spirits and apéritifs, as well as how the countries differ in what they drink, and the way they drink. He even includes a few of the recipes if you’d like to share a drink with us. You can listen to our full interview and also sign up for The David Lebovitz Newsletter on Substack. I hope you’ll stick around and joy the spirited dispatches here on LAST CALL.
An Amaro Grows in Brooklyn
In the spring of 2014, sommeliers Nicholas Finger and Fairlie McCollough launched St. Agrestis, Brooklyn’s first contemporary amaro. “Saint” was a nod to the Italian inspiration behind the amaro while Agrestis means of/or pertaining to the fields or countryside. This small-batch, barrel-aged blend of 20 botanicals—including dried and fresh bitter orange peel, allspice, gentian root, spearmint, and sarsaparilla root—was bottled in an austere, apothecary-style bottle with a simple label and it quickly became a favorite of mine. There was an old-time soda fountain vibe that brought to mind a bespoke root beer with complex layers of warm Christmas spices.
On my book tour for Amaro in 2016, I was a bit of a bittersweet Johnny Appleseed, bringing (technically smuggling, since it was still only available in New York) bottles of St. Agrestis with me to events around the country, and bartenders in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville, Charleston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and beyond scooped up any bottles left behind and helped spread the word. I also had the chance to write about St. Agrestis for PUNCH and Bon Appétit.
But back in Brooklyn I noticed the bottles were harder to find on the shelves at my neighborhood bottle shops and heard whispers that St. Agrestis might be temporarily stopping production or even going out of business. As was the case with some smaller bitters producers who received a lot of media attention quickly, I wondered if they couldn’t keep up with demand. I reached out to Finger and McCollough and they explained that current production had stopped (I immediately tucked away two of my original unopened bottles as collector’s items) as they were indeed in the process of selling their business.
Sometime later I received an email from Louie Catizone, the new co-owner of St. Agrestis, who wanted to have a sit-down to assure me that one of my favorite brands of amaro was still in good hands. Catizone partnered with Steven DeAngelo, the founder of Greenhook Ginsmiths, and acquired St. Agrestis in the fall of 2017, and both brands are now produced in the same distillery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
