The Best of Zest- Fabrizia Limoncello Baked Goods

I am a lover of lemon-based foods and beverages, especially when the zest stands out and makes me pucker with pleasure. That’s why I became a fan of Fabrizia Limoncello and baked goods, notably the lemon loaf cake, cookies, blondies, and biscotti.

Fabrizia Spirits was started in 2008 by two brothers, Phil and Nick Mastroianni, both born in The United States but with family roots in Calabria. The brothers grew up in a traditional Italian American family in Newtown, Massachusetts. In 2003 they accompanied their Aunt Rose “Zia Rosina” to visit their second and third cousins living in Platania, a small hill-top town in Calabria. The connection to family and heritage was a powerful one.

After tasting his cousin Angelina’s homemade version in Italy, Phil Mastroianni was inspired to make limoncello for himself. With encouragement from family and friends, the brothers turned a side hustle of their homemade limoncello into a business. The company is based in Salem, New Hampshire, and sources its lemons from Sicily, a decision the two brothers made after considerable research while visiting suppliers in Amalfi, Sorrento, Calabria, and Sicily.

“We chose Sicily for the quality and consistency of the lemons and ideal microclimate. We work with Gruppo Villari, located south of Siracusa,” shared Phil Mastroianni. Fabrizia imports more than 500,000 lemons a year from Sicily to use in their spirits and baked goods and recently invested in a lemon grove in Sicily.

Fabrizia Spirits make both Limoncello and a Crema di Limoncello in small batches made with 100 percent Sicilian lemons. Other products include a Fabrizia Blood Orange Liqueur, a sweeter version of the original Limoncello, and Fabrizia Crema di Pistachio, made with toasted pistachios. There is also a selection of canned vodka sodas made with Sicilian lemons, blood oranges, and ready-to-drink cocktails, including a Margarita and an Italian Breeze, which is a twist on a Sea Breeze. The Limoncello and canned drinks are currently distributed by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. Restaurants and bars remain key customers.

But when life gives you lemons, you make more than lemonade and lemon cocktails. You bake.

In 2020, with in-person dining shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the brothers acted fast to keep their staff busy. They launched Fabrizia Lemon Baking Company, using their Limoncello as their key ingredient for their loaf cake, cookies, blondies, biscotti, and truffles, as well as novelty items as limoncello whoopie pies and cake jars.

The cookies and biscotti are both sold wholesale; the rest is available direct to consumers on the company website. The baked goods have developed a fan following. Phil Mastroianni shared that last year the company sold 10,000 items with a fifty percent return rate. The plan is to expand slowly, keeping product freshness in mind.

The Mastroianni brothers use a portion of the company revenues to support their local community, donating more than $100,000 to organizations including Homes for Our Troops, New Hampshire Hospitality Employees Relief Fund, and the Crotched Mountain Foundation, and Brigid’s House of Hope.

The family back home in Calabria is proud of the brothers’ molto successo.

For inquiries:

www.fabriziaspirits.com

www.fabrizialemonbakingcompany.com

Follow Instagram@fabrizialemonbakingco

Instagram@fabrizia_limoncello

#LiveLifeZesty