I am so ignorant about grappa that I don't even know what questions to ask!

Grappa is a clear, highly alcoholic drink which is often served after a meal. In my experience, after dinner the waiter would offer grappa to the male and vin santo to the female. Being a male, I was a little intimidated. Personally, I couldn't swallow the grappa, but loved dipping a biscotto in my vin santo.
If you are traveling in the Veneto region, the town of Bassano del Grappa is famous for... well, you know.

Its an acquired taste - personally, I equate it with Underburg and Everclear.

Warning,edhodge... Grappa is very, very strong. One trip to Amalfi years ago, on a hot and sunny afternoon at a sidewalk caffe...I asked the waiter to recommend a Grappa for a gift. He brought me a tall glass of grappa with ice.."Prego signora.. questa..la prima grappa..... Needless to say, it packed a wallop. I was told (the next day...after I recovered!) that grappa is made from the stronger residue at the bottom of the wine vat... Thus more alcohol content. A small taste goes a long way....stay with an apertiff-size glass...

Don't drive after drinking it and if you're in Venice when you try it, be prepared to get lost in the alleys.

;-)

Personally if it is a good grappa I love it, but one small little glass is enough edhodge. You should try it if you are going to be in Italy..but not when you are going to be driving. CinCin!

Definitely strong. Definitely an acquired taste. Smelled like gasoline to me, but then I'm a lightweight

Do try at least once. Don't smoke near a glass

I've only had grappa once, but now I know what kerosene tastes like.

Some grappas are better than others, but all of them are like a hammer to the head in my experience. I have found that Inga makes a grappa that isn't corrosive going down, and I keep a bottle in the house. When I've offered it to guests, all of them have rolled their eyes at the first sip at how strong it is. You instantly feel it. You can get snockered on the fumes.

My most pleasant experience of grappa was having a bit poured over a slice of Italian cake. There is a certain kind of holiday cake made in the northern mountains of Italy that is sort of like a sturdier panettone. In most of Italy, panettone is an eggy, bread-like cake with raisins and other dried fruits. The cake is from Padova, whose patron saint is Saint Anthony, who supposedly baked this enhanced, richer bread at Christmastime to give to the poor. The name panettone literally means "bread of Anthony."

North of Padova, in the mountains, the cake is made of whole grain flours, and is studded with nuts as well many dried fruits. Served with a splash of grappa, it's very warming.

Its like any alcoholic beverage, you get all sorts of different qualities, anywhere from heaven on your tongue to no tongue left !! But the best I ever had wasn't the best quality but the bottle was shared with 5 good friends just outside of Florence!

As Marko said, there are many different qualities of grappa. I could take it or leave it, until I tasted an "artisanale" grappa made in small quantities by the owner of a vineyard. It was rich and subtle, unlike any other grappa I had tasted - but still only to be taken in tiny amounts.

Grappa is a grape-based spirit distilled from the left-overs of wine making. It is similar to French "marc", and any number of brandies and schnapps. I don't know why people are surprised at its strength -- it's a spirit, and varies between 80 and 100 proof.

People usually drink it after dinner. How much depends on whether they want a quiet drink or two or a midnight revel.

I enjoy a small glass of grappa after sitting for a 2-hour (+) meal in Tuscany and Umbria. It really does help digest the meal, and in the morning I'm FINE. Dear Italian friends introduced us to grappa, and I'm glad they did. They bring along a bottle when they come to visit us in the states now. Muscato grappa is their favorite, and they've tried them all!

The cheapest grappa tastes like Italian jet fuel. The good stuff is better but still STRONG.

Somehow 80-100 proof vodka or scotch is not as instantly debilitating as 80-100 proof grappa.

The most mind-altering alcohol I ever had in Italy was in the Caffe Melitti in Ascoli Piceno, which makes a clear anisette liquer that sort of lights up your brain like a glass of tequila does, and all the world is shiny and bright, and 30 minutes later sends you into a coma and you still feel it the next day -- but you definitely want more!

http://www.meletti.it

Coretto Grappa: Espresso with a shot of grappa. Don't forget the sugar. Yummy!