Pacienza Apicoltura Brings Back a Thousand-Year Old Historical Drink of Honey and Wine

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 5/10/2023

Pacienza Apicoltura Brings Back a Thousand-Year Old Historical Drink of Honey and Wine

For twenty years, the Pacienza family has always been involved in beekeeping and measured with great success. Now on its third generation, brothers Luciano and Angelo Pacienza have stepped up with their ideas. It's a family with a long history of apiculture in Pollino National Park in Altomonte in the southern Italian region of Calabria where they follow nomadic beekeeping techniques for the production of their honey.

"The bees are physically moved to a particular type of bloom," explains Luciano.

Being completely immersed in the world of honey, the brothers thought of another way to enjoy their honey which actively involved customers - to make a drink based on honey and wine. The idea was inspired from the ancient tradition dating back to the Classical Antiquity. During this Greek - Roman era, honey was combined with wine, giving life to a unique drink called Mulsum.

In 2006, their drink started to receive enormous success in various tastings that the idea of bottling it and putting it on sale finally developed. The starting point was Elysium, a full-bodied and bold red wine pronounced with hints of cinnamon, a strong and spicy flavor thanks to the notes of given by the chestnut honey. Soon after, Diana, Luciano's companion, thought about a more delicate drink which was geared towards the feminine palate. Thus, Elixir was born, a white wine with acacia honey, a delicate texture and floral and fresh scents.

Elysium
 An alcoholic beverage based on: 83% red wine obtained from Calabrese, Magliocco and Castriglione; 17% Italian chestnut honey; and spices. The honey was collected from beehives in the National Park of Sila in Calabria, one of the places with the cleanest air in Europe. The drink presents an intense ruby red color with a strong Mediterranean character. The nose is intense with pronounced aromas of spices, particularly cinnamon and cloves while on the palate it expresses a good structure and sweetness that at the same time refreshing. It's great with medium-aged to aged cheese and dry pastries. Alone, it can also be enjoyed as a meditation drink or after dinner. It doesn't end there because it is also a good ingredient to blend in mixology drinks.

Elixir  
An alcoholic drink based on: white wine obtained from 83% pure Malvasia Bianca; 16% Italian acacia honey and spices. The honey was collected from beehives in the National Park of Sila in Calabria, one of the places with the cleanest air in Europe. In the glass, it presents an intense straw yellow color with an intense nose spices and flowers reminiscent of acacia while on the palate it's warm, soft and has a persistent finish. It is great with medium-aged or blue-veined cheese, chocolate, as well as white meat and oven-roasted pork. Like Elysium, it can also be mixed with fruit-based or sweet cocktails.

Mixology

 The use of Elixir and Elysium in mixology drinks opens up a wide range of possibilities to creativity and flavors. The advantages are many, like the sugary part given by the honey has a different influence on the palate and is capable of touching different gustatory perceptions compared to the normal range. With the use of Elixir, which has a more accentuated sweetness and a freshness given by the use of white wine, it is possible to play with the flavors. Combining the drink with other liqueur products such as an amaro or a digestive allows the palate to experience an excellent contrast created by the various herbs of the amaro together with the sweetness of acacia honey.