Ingredients
Built on cinchona (china calissaia) bark, the same quinine-bearing bark behind tonic water, sweetened into a dark, syrupy elixir with citrus peel and warm spice. Related in spirit to the monastic Elisir Novasalus, a far drier and more medicinal cinchona bottling.
- ✦Cinchona calisaya bark
- ✦Bitter orange peel
- ✦Cinnamon
- ✦Clove
- ✦Vanilla
- ✦Caramelized sugar
History of the Brand
Cinchona bark reached Europe from Peru in the 1600s as a malaria cure, and Italian pharmacists turned it into sweetened elixirs long before anyone called them liqueurs.
China Martini was first bottled in Turin in 1867, part of Piedmont's nineteenth-century boom in medicinal bitters that also produced vermouth.
For generations Italian households kept it as a household remedy for coughs and stomach complaints as much as a drink.
The style's driest expression is Elisir Novasalus, produced at the Cistercian abbey in Vitorchiano — an intensely bitter, low-sugar cinchona elixir that bartenders use in dashes.
Tasting Characteristics
Cola, dried bark, orange oil and baking spice.
Rich caramel sweetness, then a firm quinine bitterness with cocoa and clove.
Long, drying, distinctly medicinal.
Flavor meter
How to serve it
- 01Neat in a small glass as a digestivo.
- 02Over ice with soda and a lemon twist.
- 03A half-ounce in a whiskey stirred drink for cola-and-quinine depth.
- 04Traditionally added to espresso in Piedmont.
- 05In dashes, Novasalus-style, to bitter up a spritz.
Where to Get It
Common in Italy, patchier in the US where china-style elixirs remain a specialist category. Novasalus is import-limited and pricier.
Italian grocers and shops
A supermarket staple across Piedmont and Lombardy.
Specialty bottle shops
Ask for 'china' (pronounced KEE-nah) elixirs.
Online spirits retailers
Search both 'China Martini' and 'Elisir Novasalus'.
Affiliate buying links coming soon.
China Martini FAQ
What is China Martini?
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A Turinese elixir made since 1867 from cinchona (quinine) bark, sweetened with caramel and spiced with orange, cinnamon and clove, bottled at 31% ABV.
How is 'china' pronounced?
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KEE-nah. It refers to cinchona bark, not the country, and the same root gives us the word quinine.
What is Elisir Novasalus?
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A very dry, intensely bitter cinchona elixir produced by Cistercian monks at Vitorchiano — the austere counterpart to sweeter china liqueurs like China Martini.
What does China Martini taste like?
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Cola and caramel sweetness over firm quinine bitterness, with cocoa, clove and a long drying medicinal finish.
How do you drink cinchona elixirs?
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Neat as a digestivo, over ice with soda, stirred into espresso, or in small measures to add bitterness to whiskey cocktails.