Italian bottler San Pellegrino is best known for its sparkling mineral water, available in Italian (and other) restaurants. But San Pellegrino expanded beyond simple water. By mixing water with various flavors fruits, the company created a line of sparkling fruit sodas. Originally only available in Europe, the sodas were picked up by Nestle for worldwide distribution. They found an audience through coffee shops, which often carry at least two brands. You will also be able to find six packs in grocery stores.
This review will cover the three flavors I am familiar with – Aranciata, Chinotto and Limonata. There is also a bitter flavor called Sanbitter, but I have not found it yet.
I first discovered Pellegrino sodas in coffee shops. For whatever reason, I never learned to drink coffee. Matter cannot stand. Not even mocha ice cream. But I’m always in a restaurant meeting for one reason or another, and I need to drink. Since so many cafes seem to carry at least some of the brands of S. Pellegrini’s sodas, I’ve worked them out and found them (well, some of them) to be a great choice for those times when you want something light for a social gathering. but you don’t want coffee.
All three come in cans and small glass bottles. He only came across pictures of the bottles on the Internet. Everywhere I found soda, there was a dog. They use a similar strategy. The background color is there with the appropriate fruit on it. There is a red star in the fruit, and drink and names around the fruit in white letters.
Orange
Arnciata comes in a blue can. This orange drink was San Pellegrino’s first attempt at a fruity soda, first developed back in 1932. It’s basically just San Pellegrino mineral water shot with orange juice. Texed process a little later, but still the basic idea. Aranciata is a kind of watery juice with a piece of fiery carbonated gold. Such as a range of properties.
The arnicata is quite good, although to my taste the orange juice drizzle is not the best way to go. (I’m not a big Orangina fan though, so if you are, you might as well like Aranciata.) Sparkling water mineral water avi anything he adds to it, but at the price of diluting the flavor of the oranges. It’s good, but not my favorite.
Chinotto
In a brown can, Chinotto is the most surprising San Pellegrino soda for the American taste. It is made from a bitter citrus fruit that is grown nearby in some regions of Italy. There are also a few herbs added for flavor. Chinotto is a very Italian thing. The juice combines bitterness and sweetness in an odd way, and long sips Italy before lunch are cleansing. palette They seem to be many small local brands spread in Italy, and Chinotto is also an ingredient in Campari. The drink advertises that it is a very cold drink, but it is not. Dr. Pepper is closer, but it’s not quite right.
Honestly, Chinotto is an acquired taste, and I couldn’t get it. I don’t know how you’d like it unless you’re Italian and grew up drinking stuff. It rolls off your tongue with an initial hit of sweetness, but leaves a really bitter aftertaste that just doesn’t work for me. It seems more appropriate to drink it before dinner than in a large glass over ice. If you like Campari, it seems like you would like Chinotto. It’s certainly a unique experience trying to say what you’ve done.
Lemonade
Lemonade comes in glowing green and is usually sparkling lemonade. Lemon is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think Italian cuisine, but the Italians grow their own. citrus crops have their own special varieties. They are used in a surprising number of dishes, and their lemons are really strong. Limonata is basically the same concept as Aranciata, except with lemons instead of oranges. Lemon juice is cut into the sparkling water of Saint Pellegrini.
For me, lemonade is a hit of the S. Pellegrini line. Win bottles in ounce 11.15 can. Unlike Aranciata, Italian lemons are intense enough that when sparkling-water”>sparkling-water”>sprinkle, it doesn’t dull the flavor. Lemonade is just the right balance between sweet and sour (which is very different from Chinotto’s sweet and bitter concert). The taste is very light, not heavy and strained. I find myself drinking, sipping a little for a drink. Really refreshing even on a hot day.
St. Pellegrini’s soda line is short. Obviously, my big recommendation is Limonata, but Aranciata is also a good choice if you like orange sodas. Chinotto… try it once so you will know what I mean. Maybe you’ll love it. But I’m not going to start buying my arsenal of gear with its case until you know what you’re getting into.
Now I just have to track down some of that Sanbitter to complete the set…
