Doladira Aperitivo Alpino Rhubarb & Alpine Botanical Liqueur 700ml

Meredith Erickson co-founded Joe Beef — the legendary Montreal restaurant that helped redefine what a neighborhood bistro could be in North America — and wrote "Alpine Cooking," a cookbook that sent her deep into the mountain villages, mountain kitchens, and mountain pantries of the Italian, Swiss, French, and Austrian Alps in search of the specific, under-celebrated cuisine of high-altitude Europe. Buried in that research was a small recipe for a rhubarb elixir — something she made for friends and family, almost as an afterthought to the book itself. The response was immediate and specific: people wanted more of it. Erickson kept refining it. Eventually, she stopped thinking of it as a recipe and started thinking of it as a product.

The name Doladira fuses two words: the Dolomites, the jagged, UNESCO World Heritage-protected mountain range in northeastern Italy that anchors the entire alpine culinary tradition Erickson had spent years documenting, and enrosadira — the ancient Dolomite word for the specific rose-gold alpenglow that bathes the peaks at sunset, a phenomenon so locally significant it has its own dedicated vocabulary. Erickson built Doladira in partnership with Richard Betts, co-founder of Casa Komos Brands Group, and Jean-Marc Roulot — the celebrated Burgundian winemaker whose facility in France is where the aperitivo is actually crafted and bottled, even though the botanicals themselves are sourced from Italy.

"I created Doladira to have the drink I always wanted but could never find," Erickson said. "An aperitivo with real ingredients, less sugar, and a perfect balance of bitterness, acidity, herbaceousness, and salinity. It's a culmination of my time in the Alps — it's also a riff on a recipe from my alpine book — but really when I think about it, it's a result of the last 20 years I've spent in the food and wine world." Plum, gentian, elderflower, pine, and subtle notes of rosemary unite into what BevNET called "an almost indescribable elixir" — herbaceous, fresh, silky-smooth, with a perfect balance of bitterness, acidity, herbaceousness, and salinity. No added sugar at all, and 60% less sugar than the leading category aperitifs. The vibrant pink color comes entirely from black carrot and rhubarb — no dye, no cochineal insects, nothing artificial. Drinkhacker called it the lower-sugar Alpine answer to spritz season. This is what twenty years in the mountains and twenty years in restaurants taught Meredith Erickson the aperitivo hour was missing.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Doladira was conceived in the Dolomite Alps of northeastern Italy by Meredith Erickson, co-founder of Montreal's celebrated Joe Beef restaurant and author of the cookbook "Alpine Cooking" — a deep exploration of the food traditions of high-altitude Europe. An early version of what would become Doladira first appeared in that book as a Rhubarb Elixir recipe; its popularity with readers convinced Erickson to refine and commercialize it. She developed the final product over a multi-year collaboration with Richard Betts, co-founder of Casa Komos Brands Group (CKBG), with the explicit ambition of creating an aperitivo that "elevates any occasion" using only the best available ingredients.

The botanicals — rhubarb, plum, gentian, elderflower, pine, and rosemary — are sourced from Italy, drawing directly on the alpine terroir and traditional ingredient palette Erickson documented during her research for "Alpine Cooking." The aperitivo is crafted and bottled at the privately-owned Burgundy, France facility of Jean-Marc Roulot, the internationally respected Meursault winemaker whose involvement brings serious technical winemaking precision to the production process. The finished liqueur contains no artificial additives of any kind — its vibrant pink color is derived entirely naturally from black carrot and rhubarb, avoiding both synthetic dye and the traditional cochineal insect-derived coloring used throughout the broader Italian bitter aperitivo category. Critically, no sugar is added during production at all, resulting in a finished product with approximately 60% less sugar than the leading category aperitifs — a meaningful production distinction that defines Doladira's entire flavor philosophy: bitterness, acidity, herbaceousness, and salinity balanced without the heavy sweetness that defines most commercial Italian aperitivo. Bottled at 22% ABV / 44 proof. The packaging itself reflects the brand's alpine identity — ridged "pistes" texture across the bottle, evoking ski slopes, designed by Perron-Roettinger.

Critics Reviews

No published numerical critic scores are confirmed for Doladira at this time.

Drinkhacker (confirmed extended review):
"Summertime is spritz time, and there's a new, lower sugar aperitivo on the market looking to bring some Alpine influence to that most refreshing of warm weather cocktails. True to the name, Doladira is made with several alpine botanicals including gentian, elderflower, pine, and rosemary, along with rhubarb, plum, and black carrot. There are no artificial additives or added sweeteners. In fact, Doladira reportedly has a whopping 60% less sugar content than the leading aperitifs."

BevNET (confirmed):
"Meredith's thoughtful blending of rhubarb and alpine botanicals makes an almost indescribable elixir. Plum, gentian, elderflower, pine, and subtle notes of rosemary's salinity unite, offering an invigorating, herbaceous profile with a smooth texture."

The Spirits Business (confirmed):
"The liquid offers a herbaceous profile with a smooth texture. Its colour comes naturally from rhubarb and black carrot, avoiding artificial additives."

La Bottega di Terroni (confirmed):
"Doladira is a rhubarb-forward aperitivo crafted with plum, gentian, elderflower, and rosemary. Fresh, herbaceous, and smooth, it works well over ice or mixed into cocktails. Naturally low in sugar, it offers a cleaner profile than many traditional aperitivi, allowing its alpine botanicals and berry notes to stand out."

Meredith Erickson, Creator:
"There is a lot hiding in the mountains, especially if you know where to look. The spirit of alpine cooking is alive in this drink. It's fresh, fresh, fresh and a happy consequence is that it makes you thirsty for more. This is the culmination of my work in the Alps over the last decade."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Vibrant pink, derived entirely from black carrot and rhubarb — a color of genuine natural brightness that immediately distinguishes Doladira from the cochineal-colored or artificially dyed bitter aperitivi that dominate the category. Tart rhubarb leads the nose with bright, immediately recognizable acidity. Plum adds rich, fruity depth alongside the rhubarb's sharper edge. Gentian contributes a gentle bitterness and complexity. Elderflower adds a delicate, distinctly Alpine floral note. Pine threads through with the most specifically and the most memorably mountain-evoking aromatic quality in the entire bitter aperitivo category — genuinely transportive, calling to mind alpine forests rather than Mediterranean citrus groves.

Palate
Herbaceous, fresh, and silky-smooth — the absence of added sugar producing a meaningfully cleaner and more structured palate than the typically heavier, sweeter Italian bitter aperitivo tradition. Plum and rhubarb carry the primary fruit character with genuine tartness and depth. Rosemary adds the most specifically herbal and the most subtly saline secondary quality — the "hint of salinity" Erickson specifically built into the formula. Gentian's bitterness arrives in careful balance, never aggressive, working in concert with the rhubarb's natural acidity rather than competing with it. Pine and elderflower carry through from the nose, maintaining the Alpine identity from first sip to last.

Finish
Clean and refreshing — the "perfect balance of bitterness, acidity, herbaceousness, and salinity" that Erickson specifically set out to achieve confirmed at the close. Considerably less cloying than sugar-forward aperitivi, the finish invites repeated sipping precisely because of its restraint rather than despite it. Pine and rosemary linger longest, the most distinctly Alpine and the most genuinely transportive closing notes available in the entire bitter aperitivo category.

Quick Overview

Cocktail Suggestions

Doladira Spritz (the signature serve)
2 oz Doladira · 3 oz Prosecco · 1 oz soda water · ice. Built in a large wine glass. The lower sugar content keeps this spritz brighter and less cloying than the standard Aperol version.

Doladira Negroni
1 oz Doladira · 1 oz gin · 1 oz sweet vermouth · expressed orange peel. The pine and rosemary character adds a genuinely Alpine dimension to the classic format.

On the Rocks with Soda (the brand's own simplest recommendation)
2 oz Doladira over ice, topped with a splash of soda water. The cleanest expression of the rhubarb, gentian, and pine character.