Caffè Corretto
💧0
Italian espresso "corrected" with a small shot of grappa, sambuca or brandy. The bartender's pick-me-up — sharp, warm and over in three sips.
A staple of Italian café culture, especially in the north and in Veneto where grappa is the canonical correttore. Workers traditionally took it as a morning sharpener; today it sits at the end of a meal as a digestif, often paired with the family of "ammazzacaffè" ("coffee killers") — small after-dinner spirits.
Method
Built
Glass
shot
Difficulty
Easy
Flavor Profile
🌱 Vegan🌾 Gluten-free
Upgrade your home bar
AdInstructions
- Brew a single shot of fresh espresso into a small espresso cup.
- Pour the spirit (15–20 ml grappa, sambuca or brandy) directly on top, or serve it alongside in a separate shot glass so the drinker controls the splash.
- Sweeten with a single sugar cube if desired — drop it in last so it floats briefly on the crema.
- Variant — "Richiamino" ("the little call-back"): after finishing the corretto, pour a few drops of fresh espresso into the empty spirit glass and drink that too. It "calls back" the leftover spirit with one last bittersweet sip.