Strega (or Liquore Strega), is an Italian herbal liqueur produced since 1860 by the S. A. Distilleria Liquore Strega in Benevento, Campania, Italy. Its yellow color comes from the presence of saffron in its recipe. Liquore Strega is 80 proof (40%) and among its approximately 70 herbal ingredients are mint and fennel. Strega is considered a digestif, meant for drinking after meals. Strega has a similar appearance to Galliano (though less vibrantly yellow). It is slightly sweet, semi-viscous, and has a bold, complex flavor with strong minty or coniferous notes. Strega is used for flavoring torta caprese, a type of cake.
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The name
Strega is the Italian word for "witch" and since legends of witchcraft at Benevento date back to the time of the Lombard invasion it was a natural choice of name for the liqueur. The liqueur is sometimes called "the witch" in the English-speaking world.
The prize
The Premio Strega (Strega Prize), the most prestigious literary award in Italy today, was founded in 1947 by Guido Alberti, then owner of the company, together with his friends the writer Maria Bellonci and her husband Goffredo.
Popular culture references
In the movie Made, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Favreau and Vince Vaughn, Vaughn's character (Ricky) orders a Strega in an Italian restaurant, only to be rebuffed by Sean P Diddy Combs' mob boss character (Ruiz) with the line "You having the witch after dinner? No class!" The waiter agrees with Ruiz that Strega is an apéritif. However, the waiter and Ruiz are wrong. On numerous occasions in the novel The Godfather by Mario Puzo, Don Vito Corleone and his colleagues drink Strega. On Days of our Lives, the villain Stefano DiMera drink Strega.
