I recently received two strange looking ‘holiday’ bottles, brought back by friends who had been on breaks in Italy and France. One is a Limoncello, the other a Pineau des Charentes. What are they and what do I do with them?

You have been given two traditional local drinks, one an aperitif to enjoy before a meal, the other a digestif to sip after you have finished your dinner. Firstly, I would suggest that you try both once and then keep them if you like them. If you don’t, dispose of them straight away. We all have a collection of strange, unfamiliar liquids lurking in our drink’s cabinet.

Pineau des Charentes comes from the Charentes region in the southwest of France. It is drunk as an aperitif – before the meal – and is quite sweet (the French are very fond of sweet wines, including port, before a meal). It is made by adding cognac to unfermented, or lightly fermented, grape juice, and then aged for 18 months, including in oak barrels for a minimum of eight months. It is generally about 17 per cent abv (alcohol content per bottle).

A similar drink called Floc de Gascogne is made in the Armagnac region, and Macvin in the Jura. Pineau des Charentes is usually made from white grapes using ugni blanc – the variety used to make cognac – but there are rosé and red versions too, often made using cabernet and merlot grapes. I would serve it chilled, possibly with a few cubes of ice, although it is sometimes made into a spritzer. Pineau des Charentes is a pleasant fruity drink, of the sort that always seems better when enjoyed in the region where it is made.

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Limoncello is a well-known Italian lemon-flavoured liqueur. It is made by steeping lemon zest in a neutral alcohol until it releases flavoured oils. It is produced in the south of Italy, usually Amalfi and Sicily, and is the second most popular liqueur in Italy after amaro. It is traditionally drunk as a digestif after a meal, hence why it is frequently offered gratis by waiters in Italian restaurants around Ireland. Alternatively, it can be served as a spritzer. Good limoncello is not too sweet and can be very pleasant; others smell very like washing-up liquid. Like Pineau, it should be served chilled.