Caffè alla Valdostana, or Valdostan Coffee: Wherever you go in the Alps, it seems, you will run across fortified coffees, which are often served in multi-spouted wooden containers, the idea being that each person will take a sip from a spout, then pass the container on to the next person who will use the next spout. The tradition may be born of barracks customs among soldiers, but it's by now well rooted. To serve 6:

See Also

Other recipes from the Valle d'Aosta

Irish Coffee

Ingredients

• 6 demitasse cups of not-too-strong espresso
• 3 glasses red wine
• 6 shots grappa, preferably from the same kind of marks as the wine (e.g. grappa di Dolcetto with Dolcetto wine)
• 12 teaspoons sugar
• The zest of a lemon, cut into thin strips

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes

• Total Time: 20 minutes

Preparation

While the coffee is brewing, combine the remaining ingredients in a pitcher, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the coffee, and pour the mixture through a strainer, into a grolla. If you don't have one, 6 glasses will work nicely too.

Given this caffè's rather alcoholic nature you may want to follow it with real coffee, and in any case forgo the after-dinner amaro or distillate Italians refer to as an ammazza caffè, or coffee killer.

Last thing: purists never wash their grolle, but merely rub them clean with a damp cloth.

Yield: Six servings Caffè alla Valdostana, Fortified Valdostan Coffee.