Peter Morrell raises a glass of Portafortuna XO (meaning “Lucky Charm”), a new drink designed for after-dinner toasts – making it a perfect for any festive occasion
Friends in Milan raised their glasses as lucky charms under the gaze of the magnificent Duomo di Milano. For generations, many have enjoyed relaxed dining and spontaneously raised glasses to wish each other good luck and good fortune. This moment seemed no different.
Glasses of random drinks, some port cocktails, others brandy, or cognac cocktails – representing their lucky charm – were raised and used to make a toast like few others: A toast was raised
“Portafortuna, Buona Fortuna a Tutti”
With my lucky charm, I wish good luck and fortune to everyone
This point was the genesis for the drink’s creator Owen James, he decided to make the definitive after-dinner drink for toasting, the idea for Portafortuna was born.
Portafortuna which is made by blending 2016 vintage port with 15-year-old XO Brandy, augmented with Cognac and a bespoke recipe of hand-crafted, natural flavours: dark chocolate, burnt orange, rich vanilla and black cherry.
Its unique flavour profile works beautifully with festive treats such as wedding, birthday and Christmas cakes, Christmas pudding, chocolate desserts and cheeses.
Owen explains his objective for creating Portafortuna
“Working with a team of experienced drink experts we were clear from the outset we wanted to create Portafortuna by blending two giants of the after-dinner drinks world – Port and Brandy. They had never been successfully blended and bottled in over 300 years. But it wasn’t a matter of just combining the two and hoping for the best; we had to identify and blend mature, aged drinks in order to balance the flavour profile.”
The recipe took eight years to perfect and involved developing a unique process that includes barrel blending select vintage port and XO brandy, augmenting with Cognac, harmonising the flavours to mitigate their harsher tones, ice filtering the master blend, amplifying selected natural flavours present in the blend, reducing the sugar levels, calming the acidity and optimising the final level of alcohol at 27.5% for stability and performance.
“We’ve created a unique drink that is much more than the sum of its parts,” says Owen. “It’s designed for memorable moments and gatherings with friends and family, so as a festive drink it can’t be bettered: it’s a delicious way to raise a class and wish good luck to all.”
Peter Morrell, Editor, comments “I have tried Portafortuna and its luxurious taste befits the importance of the event being toasted. The Portafortuna experience starts with its high quality, and very well-designed box. Inside, the elegantly shaped bottle continues the sophisticated feel.
“Portafortuna pours a dark amber colour, there is an official tasting glass available on their website, for reference I used the Glencairn whisky nosing glass which helped to capture the complexity of the bouquet. On the nose there are strong aromas of dark chocolate and vanilla with hints of orange and dried fruit.
“On the palate, the port and brandy produce an intriguing mix of flavours. In the mouth there is a rush of chocolate together with stronger vanilla and orange tastes. After a few seconds dark cherry notes emerge on the palate.
“The mouthfeel is very smooth, and there is equal balance between the port and the brandy. The finish is very persistent and has an element of shortbread in the background. The drinking experience, from the first sniff to the lingering aftertaste, is very satisfying.
“Portafortuna also makes the ideal base for sophisticated cocktails, you can download recipes from the website.
“This is a lovely drink and adds a touch of luxury to any occasion.”
A 70cl bottle of Portafortuna costs £38.50 and comes with a free 50ml miniature and free shipping. You can buy it direct from the website, and in addition purchase tasting glasses and a lavishly illustrated hardback book detailing the product and its background.
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