The full Meletti family has landed at Del Mesa Liquor, a family-owned liquor store in San Diego, California: seven Italian liqueurs from one house in Ascoli Piceno, from the saffron-led Amaro at $24.99 to the Fernet and chocolate Cioccolato at $31.99. Every bottle below is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor today, on the shelf of our wider liqueurs collection. If you have only met Meletti through a bartender's after-dinner pour, this is the whole range in one place — the bitter aperitivo, the digestivi, the anise bottles the house was founded on, and the sweet finish.
One house in Ascoli Piceno, making liqueurs since 1870
Ditta Silvio Meletti has made liqueurs in Ascoli Piceno, in Italy's Le Marche region on the Adriatic coast, since 1870 — five generations of the same family working from Silvio Meletti's original recipes and his bain-marie still, a slow, gentle distillation he developed to protect delicate aromatics. Most ingredients still come from local Le Marche producers who grow exclusively for the house. That continuity is why the range reads as a family rather than a catalogue: the same anise, the same patience, and the same vintage-style labels across seven very different bottles. For the wider bitter landscape these bottles sit in, see our Italian amaro guide on the Del Mesa blog.
The bitter side: an aperitivo, an amaro and a fernet
- Meletti Amaro Liqueur — $24.99, 750mL, 32% ABV. The beloved bittersweet digestivo under the ornate yellow label used since the early 1900s. Where many amari lead with bitterness, Meletti leads with Sibillini saffron, caramel and orange peel, with gentian, clove, anise and violet behind — silkier and more approachable than most, while still finishing properly bitter. Made by cold extraction by percolation.
- Meletti 1870 Bitter Liqueur — $29.99, 750mL, 25% ABV. The house's traditional red bitter aperitivo, named for the founding year. Three separate distillates — sweet orange, bitter orange, and a spice-and-herb infusion with gentian, coriander, cinnamon and clove — are blended into a mildly bitter, refreshing aperitivo built for the spritz hour in our aperitif collection.
- Meletti Fernet Liqueur — $31.99, 750mL, 40% ABV. The full-strength corner of the family: a deeply bitter, herb-driven, mint-forward and bone-dry digestivo in the vintage-label bottle. Fernet is the most intense style in the amaro family, and Meletti pours it the old way — bracing, for drinkers who like their after-dinner drink to push back. Browse the rest of the shelf in our bitters collection.
The anise family: the 1870 original and a full-strength sambuca
- Meletti Anisette Liqueur — $26.99, 750mL, 34% ABV. Anisetta Meletti is the bottle the house was founded on: Silvio's original 1870 recipe, made from green anise grown in the clay soils around Ascoli Piceno and slowly distilled bain-marie. One of Italy's oldest and most decorated liqueurs, and the classic Italian way to correct an espresso.
- Meletti Sambuca Liqueur — $26.99, 750mL, 42% ABV. An anise liqueur flavored with elderflower — Sambucus, the plant that gives sambuca its name — and given an extended aging step before bottling, so it pours richer than most sambucas, with a floral note under the licorice. A house built on anise knows this bottle cold.
The sweet finish: Sorrento lemon and Dutch cocoa
- Meletti Limoncello Liqueur — $28.99, 750mL, 30% ABV. Made from fresh Sorrento lemon peel — the thick-skinned, intensely fragrant lemons that are the gold standard — macerated for three months. Bright, sweet and intensely lemony in the tall bottle with the art-nouveau lady on the label: Italy's sunshine in a glass, served ice-cold.
- Meletti Cioccolato Liqueur — $31.99, 750mL, 21% ABV. Specialty milk and Dutch cocoa combined with sugar and spirit into a rich, velvety chocolate liqueur in the frosted, vintage street-scene bottle. Silvio created it as a winter drink to be served warm; it has since proven it does everything else too, from dessert pours to an espresso martini twist.
How to drink the Meletti range
Start the evening with the 1870 Bitter: over ice with soda and an orange twist, in a spritz, or stirred into an Americano — and pair it with a vermouth from our vermouth guide for a proper low-ABV build. End it with the digestivi: Amaro neat or on one rock, Fernet for the committed, a chilled shot of Limoncello after seafood, Cioccolato warmed on a cold night, and Anisette or Sambuca dropped into espresso the Italian way. A mixed case of the bitter and the sweet also makes an easy, affordable gift from our gift sets shelf. Ordering questions — shipping states, delivery and returns — are answered on our shipping and return policy and FAQs pages.
Frequently asked questions
What is Meletti Amaro?
Meletti Amaro is a bittersweet Italian herbal liqueur from Ascoli Piceno, bottled at 32% ABV in 750mL. It is built on Sibillini saffron, orange peel, gentian, clove, anise and violet, made by cold extraction, and it pours silkier and more caramel-led than most amari while still finishing bitter. It is $24.99 and available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
What is the difference between Meletti Anisette and Meletti Sambuca?
Both are anise liqueurs from the same house. Anisette ($26.99, 34% ABV) is Silvio Meletti's original 1870 recipe, distilled bain-marie from green anise grown around Ascoli Piceno, and is soft, sweet and made for coffee. Sambuca ($26.99, 42% ABV) adds elderflower, is aged longer before bottling for a richer body, and pours at full strength with a floral note under the licorice.
How do you drink Meletti 1870 Bitter?
Meletti 1870 Bitter ($29.99, 25% ABV) is a red bitter aperitivo: serve it over ice with soda and orange, lengthen it into a spritz with sparkling wine, or stir it with sweet vermouth and soda for an Americano. Its sweet and bitter orange distillates keep it mildly bitter and refreshing rather than aggressive.
Where can I buy Meletti liqueurs online?
All seven Meletti liqueurs — Amaro, 1870 Bitter, Fernet, Anisette, Sambuca, Limoncello and Cioccolato, from $24.99 to $31.99 — are available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, a family-owned store in San Diego, California, in the liqueurs collection at delmesaliquor.com.