Ingredients
A base of Trentino wine infused with bitter roots and barks and left almost unsweetened, so the botanicals arrive without the caramel cushion most amari rely on.
- ✦Gentian root
- ✦Wormwood
- ✦Cardo santo (holy thistle)
- ✦Rhubarb root
- ✦China bark
- ✦Bitter orange peel
- ✦Chamomile
- ✦Alpine herbs
History of the Brand
The Cappelletti family has run an erboristeria in Trentino since the early twentieth century, blending herbal preparations long before the aperitivo boom made the name familiar abroad.
Novasalus comes from that medicinal side of the house: an elixir sold as a tonic, built on wine rather than neutral spirit because wine-based bitters were the everyday format in the Alps.
It arrived in the US in the 2010s alongside the far more famous Cappelletti Aperitivo, and immediately became a bartender's cult bottle — the one poured to prove how bitter bitter can get.
Because it is only 16% and barely sweetened, it behaves like a fortified wine in cocktails, adding bitterness without adding proof.
Tasting Characteristics
Damp earth, gentian, bitter orange rind and a vinous edge of dried red fruit.
Bone dry. Root bitterness across the whole palate, rhubarb and quinine, faint red-wine tannin.
Long, drying and chalky, with almost no sweetness to close it out.
Flavor meter
How to serve it
- 01A small pour over ice with a lemon twist as a pre-dinner palate reset.
- 02Half an ounce in a Negroni variation to sharpen the bitterness without more alcohol.
- 03Topped with soda and a grapefruit slice for a very dry spritz.
- 04Splashed into a Manhattan in place of bitters.
Where to Get It
Distributed in the US through the same importer as Cappelletti Aperitivo, though in smaller volume.
Cocktail-focused bottle shops
Usually shelved with vermouth and fortified wines, not with amari.
Online spirits retailers
Around $35; refrigerate after opening like a vermouth.
In Trentino
Sold at the Cappelletti shop in Trento alongside the rest of the herbal line.
Where to buy Elisir Novasalus
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Elisir Novasalus FAQ
What is Elisir Novasalus?
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A wine-based bitter elixir from Antica Erboristeria Cappelletti in Trentino, bottled at 16% ABV and made with almost no added sugar.
Why is it so bitter?
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Because there is virtually no sugar to balance the gentian, wormwood and rhubarb, the root bitterness arrives undiluted.
Does it need refrigeration?
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Yes — it is wine-based, so keep it in the fridge and finish it within a month or so.