Mandarino Liqueur Born Out Of Melbourne's Covid Lockdown

Mandarino liqueur, one of three great flavours from Tommy's Booze. — *Mandarino liqueur, one of three great flavours from Tommy’s Booze. Photo: Ashley Ludkin.*

The Tommy’s Booze brand of Italian-style liqueurs has its origins in the Covid lockdown in Melbourne when a customer gave Tom Giurioli and Dan Leuzzi, owners of Windsor’s much-loved Freddy’s Pizza restaurant, a giant bag of homegrown lemons.

With time on their hands, Tom took a nostalgic trip down memory lane, calling his family in Rome to recreate his Nonna’s much-loved limoncello recipe. Hand-peeling each lemon with care, it became a labour of love — one that would ultimately lead to the birth of Tommy’s Booze.

“There’s something special about peeling the fruit by hand; it’s therapeutic and takes me straight back to Italy, sitting with my Nonna,” says Tom. “We spent months perfecting the flavours, experimenting until we landed on three that everyone loves.”

The result was a line-up that includes Tommy’s Booze Limoncello (Original), Mandarino (Mandarin) and Lampone (Raspberry). The Limoncello is said to be true to Nonna’s recipe while the Lampone is a crowd-favourite.

We’ve enjoyed the Mandarino and loved the fresh take on citrus liqueur. Made into a spritz, with Prosecco, soda water and ice, it is delightfully refreshing with the distinct mandarin taste that we love so much.

Although the range is now stocked in some of the best restaurants in Melbourne and in liquor stores around the country (RRP $60), Tom and Dan remain committed to traditional, hands-on production methods. Each batch takes months to perfect.

They are continuing to shake things up with the launch earlier this year of ready-to-drink canned spritzes in the same three flavours, available online for $24 for a pack of four. More information here.

We love the Mandarino liqueur in a spritz but you could also try it in this recipe for a sour. Enjoy!