A well-known name in the St. Louis restaurant business and local radio is now becoming more visible in local grocery store aisles.
Joe Fresta Jr., son of The Pasta House Co. co-founder, Joe Fresta Sr., recently launched a namesake limoncello in partnership with ShowMe Beverages and Ardent Spirits, the distilling arm of Collinsville-based Old Herald Brewing & Distilling.
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Fresta Jr., who grew up in the food and beverage industry, has recently made a name for himself with his Fasebook Food Critic handle and while co-hosting “The Weekly Special,” a restaurant-focused segment of The Pressbox with Frank Cusumano, which airs Thursdays on 590 The Fan.
“I started building a brand for myself,” Fresta Jr. says. “And then John Giarrante with ShowMe [Beverages] approached me about putting my name on a bottle.” He took to the idea quickly but wanted something unique and landed on limoncello. “Limoncello is something no one has tapped into,” he says. Yet it was very familiar to him, after spending years in Italian restaurants. The liqueur, recognized for its yellow color, is more typically distilled in Southern Italy than in mid-America, but Ardent Spirits was able to manage the entire process, from blending to bottling.
“I wanted a balance of real lemony flavor, a touch of sweetness, and a little bit of burn over the palate,” says Fresta Jr., who says the label achieved those objectives by using pure cane sugar and avoiding artificial colors and flavorings.
Bottles of Fresta Limoncello is now available at some area restaurants and recently hit shelves at Italian markets on The Hill. Schnucks began selling the product for $22 per bottle in August, and It will be available at local Total Wine & More stores soon. “We wanted to introduce it at a price point that would encourage people to buy it and try it,” says Fresta Jr.
It’s also received critical acclaim. At the New Orleans Spirits Competition in July, Fresta Limoncello won a silver medal. “Being a new product, that was a surprise, a pleasant one, for sure,” Fresta Jr. says. “It helped open some doors.” He’s already considering a follow-up product, possibly an arancello.
In the meantime, he’s enjoying Fresta Limoncello’s success. While he says the liquor is a great mixer for a lemon drop martini or, as some local restaurants are now crafting, a “Fresta Spritz,” he likes to drink his the old-fashioned way: one to two fingers, ice cold, straight up.
