In Italian a caffè corretto is a corrected coffee, which is a charming way of saying an espresso with a shot of spirits in it. In San Marino and the hills where Romagna meets the Marche, the correction is traditionally mistrà, a clear, dry anise liqueur that is less sweet than sambuca. Mistrà is counted among San Marino's traditional liqueurs and is above all the classic spirit of the neighboring Marche, where country families have long poured it into coffee after lunch, and fishermen down the coast stirred it into coffee at sea to keep warm.

It is a drink of seconds, not minutes, and it does not pretend to be a cocktail. Made with a moka pot on the stove, it closes a long Sunday lunch with exactly the right amount of ceremony, which is to say very little.

The coffee

Ingredients

• about 3/4 cup (180 ml) cold water
• about 3 tablespoons (18 g) finely ground espresso coffee
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 2 oz (60 ml) mistrà

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