TRADITION-ROOTED DISTILLATES
Xuto is a farming company committed to keeping and spreading the centuries-old tradition of the so-called spiritu re’ fascitrari, a distillate typical of the Hyblaean Mountains.
The manufacturing process of this typical product has been handed down for generations by the beekeepers of Sortino, also known as the Honey Town.
Every beekeeper has his own recipe which is kept jealously, so a large variety of homemade distillates is produced.
Xuto’s merit lies in the fact of having devised an ideal manufacturing process which ties quality honeys and other ingredients to the best tradition of Sicily’s master distillers.
This great passion has given rise to a limited production of two excellent distillates:
- Hyblon, first distillate of Hyblaean honey
- Anima, purest honey distillate
These exceptional products bear witness to the modernity of an old legend that has become a myth.
THE GOLD OF SICILY
Italy is the sole country in the world that can boast over 60 different types of honey, many of which are exclusive due of their place of origin.
From the wealth of blooms of the well-known Mediterranean shrubland come the great Sicilian honeys, among them the Hyblaean thyme honey, which is the most celebrated and was even sung by Virgil and the ancient Greek poets.
Ancient history preserves the traditions and legends of Sicilian apiculture, such as the story of the “night wolves” related to the ancient fascitrari’s tiring practice of moving the bees from one place to another during the night. As reported by Monticelli (1845), Sicilian beekeepers “have inherited from their ancestors the useful system of transmigration, and they still practice it frequently with sagacity and prudence; they move the bees from the fields and take them to the citrus plantations, and then again to other fields, depending on whether these different places are poor or rich in flowers.”
This practice of moving the bees from place to place continues in our days, keeping alive the ancient fascination of the bees humming around where the flowers are most fragrant, the fruit most tasty and the crops most copious.