A BEWITCHING BREW
With all due respect to TV’s Sabrina and Glenda from Oz, not all witches are American. The Italians have some sorceresses of their own.
They even have a libation named Liquore Strega, strega being the Italian word for witch.
The 80-proof distillation, in a bottle embossed with a broom-toting crone, is said to be blended from 70 herbs and spices and made from a secret recipe developed in 1860 by Giuseppe Alberti of Benevento, Italy. The startling yellow color comes from saffron.
Liquore Strega is served at the restaurant Le Streghe (translation: The Witches) on West Broadway, where it’s ordered straight up or on the rocks – mostly by Italians, we’re told.
But it can also be served straight out of the freezer as a cordial, or hot with lemon peel. A bottle retails for about $23.
And like the old Benevento tale that tells of maidens who dress up as witches and mix a magic drink, you can mix a little Halloween magic of your own with one of these Strega recipes.
Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble: Pour ½ ounce of chilled Liquore Strega into a chilled champagne glass, slowly add 6 ounces of chilled dry, sparkling wine. Stir with your broomstick.
The Good Witch: Mix 1 ounce Liquore Strega with 4 ounces cranberry juice in a shaker with ice. Strain into glass.
Witch’s Brew: Mix 1 ounce Liquore Strega with 3 ounces sour mix in a shaker with ice. Strain into glass. Top with 3 ounces club soda and a splash of blue curacao.

