Chinotto

While trying to get hydrated today (it's hot in Italy!) we ran into an interesting drink labeled "Chinotto" in the grocery store. It had no drawing on the label and we couldn't find a corresponding fruit on their fruit stands. The grocery clerks told us it was distinctly Italian but couldn't translate what it actually was (fruit? vegetable? animal? mineral?). The desk person at our hostel didn't do much better. So we tried it anyway. It looks like Coke and tastes vaguely like a generic soda... but then the slightly numbing and bitter after-taste reminds you of why this is a regional specialty. (Turns out a chinotto is a citrus fruit grown almost exclusively in Italy.)