Ingredients
A secret nineteenth-century formula built on Mediterranean herbs, roots, seeds and citrus, sweetened generously and bottled at a notably high strength for an Italian digestivo.
- ✦Bitter orange peel
- ✦Sweet orange peel
- ✦Gentian root
- ✦Wormwood
- ✦Anise seed
- ✦Fennel
- ✦Cinnamon bark
- ✦Clove
- ✦Vanilla
- ✦Mediterranean aromatic herbs
History of the Brand
The Borsci family began producing their elisir in Taranto in 1840, drawing on an Orientalist fascination that ran through nineteenth-century southern Italy — the recipe was long marketed as descending from an eastern herbal formula.
It became the after-dinner ritual of Puglia and much of the Italian south, poured neat at room temperature at the end of long family meals and stocked in nearly every bar between Bari and Lecce.
The brand later joined the Caffo group, which also owns Vecchio Amaro del Capo, and production continues in the south with the original high-proof, high-sugar profile intact.
Abroad it remains a specialist bottle, mostly found through Italian importers and Italian-American grocers, where it is often the bottle homesick pugliesi ask for by name.
Tasting Characteristics
Candied orange, vanilla and baking spice, with anise and a faint medicinal herb note behind.
Rich and syrupy, closer to a spiced liqueur than a bitter amaro — orange marmalade, cinnamon and caramel carried by real alcoholic heat.
Warm and long, with clove and anise fading into a gentle herbal dryness.
Flavor meter
How to serve it
- 01Neat at room temperature after dinner, the traditional Puglian way.
- 02Over ice with a thick orange slice on a hot evening.
- 03Poured into espresso as a caffè corretto.
- 04In place of sweet vermouth in a Boulevardier for a sweeter, spicier build.
Where to Get It
Easy to find across southern Italy; in the US and UK it turns up through Italian importers and specialist shops.
Italian grocers
The most reliable source outside Italy, usually $30–$45.
Online spirits retailers
Search 'Borsci San Marzano' — stock is intermittent.
In Puglia
Standard behind the bar in Taranto, Bari and Lecce.
Affiliate buying links coming soon.
Elisir San Marzano Borsci FAQ
What is Elisir San Marzano Borsci?
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A sweet, high-proof herbal elisir made in Taranto, Puglia since 1840 and bottled at around 38% ABV.
Is Borsci a bitter amaro?
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Only lightly. It sits at the sweet, spiced end of the amaro spectrum, with orange, vanilla and baking spice ahead of any bitterness.
How do Italians drink it?
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Neat at room temperature after a meal, or stirred into espresso.
Is it related to San Marzano tomatoes?
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No. The name refers to the Borsci family's San Marzano connection in Puglia, not the tomato variety.