Five years ago, Cole Valley resident Joe Cannella visited Italy with his uncle, a Division 1 college football referee who also works with the Italian Football League.
"He bought me a ticket to Catania, Sicily where he was refereeing," said Cannella. "We were grabbing a drink after the game and looking at the bar in our hotel for a nightcap when we found a bottle of rossolio di Cannella. It was kind of like a lightning bolt moment." (Cannella's name is also the Italian word for "cinnamon.")
"We brought a couple of bottles back whenever we could and it became a family tradition," said Cannella. "We ran out because we kept giving it away as gifts; we tried buying it online, but nobody was importing it, so that increased my frustration just enough to see if we could figure out how to make our own."
Cannella began experimenting with different formulations to create his own cinnamon cordial. "I started out in the kitchen, playing with the ratios for the base spirits," he said. "We tried about 20 different recipes over the course of six to nine months. If you walked into my apartment, you weren't leaving until I got feedback on six different variations," he recalled. "That was a fun time to stop by my place."
To develop his new rosolio, Cannella blended brandy with neutral spirits before adding cinnamon in a process called maceration, which softens the cinnamon and releases its essence. Cannella's recipe uses three different types of cinnamon, spices and cane sugar; no artificial flavors or coloring are added.
After extensive kitchen-based research and development, "I brought it to a bunch of bartenders around town to get feedback," said Cannella. "My wife, Annie, is in wine sales, so she already had some relationships that allowed us to go talk to some folks and get feedback."
About 18 months ago, Cannella contacted Seven Stills Brewery & Distillery to find out if they could help him bring his cordial to market. "I got an email back asking if I'd be interested in working with them," he said. "Now, I'm working with them and producing under their license."
Joe Cannella and Steve Schick, owner of Kezar Bar.
"We're in about 14 or 15 locations for retail in the Bay Area," said Cannella, including Val de Cole in Cole Valley, K&L Wine Merchants and Plump Jack. Soon, Cannella's cordial will be available through Cask Liquors and the Thirstie app for alcohol delivery. The mixologists at Alembic and Kezar are reportedly working on a new cocktail that uses Cannella's concoction.
Seven Stills has done several production runs of Cannella Cinnamon Cordial since last November, "about 1,200 to 1,500 bottles total," said Cannella. "We're the definition of small and local." Initially, the cordial was sold in 375 ml bottles, but it's now available in a full-sized 750 ml bottle.
Cannella, formerly a Google employee, has turned his vocation into a full-time job and now teaches classes that show people how to make their own homemade liqueurs. "It's fun, and honestly, you can come up with really delicious stuff at home starting with a bottle of vodka and some great ingredients."
"I'm a big fan of spreading that DIY movement where people create their own home bars," said Cannella, who holds classes every two weeks at Z Cioccolato in North Beach and also books corporate booze-blending events.
"I want to build a community around the home bartender enthusiasts who are making their own different spirits and concoctions."
