Bicerin Dark is an Italian chocolate cream liqueur — a velvety, after-dinner pour built on cocoa and hazelnut — and it is served at Grappa in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. Made in Turin by the Vincenzi family, it takes its name and inspiration from the bicerin, the city’s famous layered drink of chocolate, coffee and cream. We keep it on the list because it brings the classic Turinese marriage of dark cocoa and Piedmont hazelnut to the close of a meal, a small glass of dessert in its own right.
About the Producer
Bicerin is produced by the Vincenzi distillery of Turin, in Italy’s Piedmont region. The original recipe traces back to Ferdinando Vincenzi, who in the 1930s created a liqueur using a closely held formula built around a plant-based cream of cocoa and hazelnut. The house has carried that recipe forward through the generations, and the Bicerin name remains tied to the chocolate-and-hazelnut tradition for which Turin is celebrated.
Style & Production
This is a cream liqueur in the gianduja spirit — the Piedmontese blend of chocolate and hazelnut — leaning to the darker, cocoa-forward side rather than a milk-sweet style. A spirit base is blended with rich cocoa, roasted hazelnut and cream into a smooth, opaque liqueur. The exact recipe is proprietary to the house, so we describe it by character rather than by formula: deep, dessert-like and unmistakably chocolate.
Tasting Notes
The nose is all dark chocolate and toasted hazelnut, with a soft sweetness behind it. On the palate it is creamy and full, carrying bittersweet cocoa, praline and a gentle nuttiness, with just enough spirit warmth to keep it from cloying. The finish is smooth and lingering, like the last spoonful of a chocolate dessert.
What to Pair It With
This is a natural at the end of the meal. Pour it beside our Flourless Chocolate Cake, alongside Mama’s Tiramisu, or with a scoop of Gelato. See the full dine-in menu for more.
How It’s Served at Grappa
Bicerin Dark Chocolate is poured at $9, served chilled and neat or over ice as a dessert liqueur.
FAQ
Where is it from?
It is made in Turin, in Italy’s Piedmont region, by the Vincenzi family distillery.
What does it taste like?
It is a creamy chocolate liqueur with dark cocoa, toasted hazelnut and praline notes, sweet but not cloying, with a smooth lingering finish.
How is it traditionally enjoyed?
As a dessert liqueur, sipped chilled and neat or over ice after dinner, often in place of or alongside a chocolate dessert.
When you’re ready, book a table, explore the cocktail & spirits list, and browse the dine-in menu.
