Not surprisingly, the most complicated part of getting up and running
was securing state permits, a process that had McNally and Timms posting
30-day notices on their apartment door in North Beach and reassuring the neighbors
that they didn't have a still going in the kitchen. Now that the grappa
is out, the partners have secured a distributor and are now
approaching stores and restaurants. Their first restaurant client: Cyrus in Healdsburg. They're hoping that customers will drink the grappa like their grandfather did, as an after-dinner digestif, as well as in cocktails; the Web site gives recipes for Cugini Martinis and Cugini Mojitos. Since the grappa isn't yet available from any San Francisco liquor stores, contact McNally directly to secure a bottle (through Cugini's distributor). The suggested
retail price is $42.99.
