The history of the Caffo’s family business dates back to the end of the nineteenth century, when Giuseppe Caffo began distilling pomace on the side of volcanic Mount Etna. After years of experience managing distilleries, he bought an old distillery in Santa Venerina, Sicily, in 1915. He fully dedicated himself to his passion and passed his knowledge along to his children. Giuseppe’s son, Sebastiano Caffo, soon became a Master Distiller himself, and together they founded Fratelli Caffo with Sebastiano’s brother, Santo Caffo.
Initially, Caffo produced a small range of spirits distilled from grapes, primarily brandy and grappa. Gradually, they began producing liqueurs and classic Italian spirits such as amaro, limoncello, amaretto, and sambuca, all from time-honored recipes painstakingly researched and reformulated by the brothers.
After expanding their business, Fratelli Caffo established a new home in Limbadi, Calabria. In this part of Italy, known for its production of red wine, raw materials and resources for local distilling are abundant. Caffo sources many of the botanicals used in production from their own estate farms, as well as from local Calabrian farms and foragers.
The tradition and the craft of master distiller passed from the founder Giuseppe to his son Sebastiano who, together with his brothers who had returned from Australia, set up the company “Fratelli Caffo – Distillerie di alcole, brandy e tartarici” (Caffo Brothers – Distilleries of spirits, brandy and tartaric liqueurs) reactivating an ancient distillery in Limbadi, Calabria, a locality at the time famous for its production of excellent red wine.
The company, now in the hands of Giuseppe’s grandson of the same name and his son Sebastiano, combining experience and innovation, with the necessary changes to the distillation equipment and liquor processing to obtain the best results, has grown rapidly, even opening branches abroad and becoming the key point of a group of companies controlled by the holding company CAFFO 1915 srl.
Today, the ancient Distillery is the fulcrum of the Caffo 1915 Group, where start-ups and historical companies coexist within it, representing around 1000 years of intertwined histories with a modern and international outlook.
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