
Binding someone to you in love doesn’t need to be too much toil and trouble. No need to hover over a cauldron and sacrifice small amphibians. The uninitiated should never cast a love spell and expect a positive response—spell energy returns to sender three-fold, and it’s not always pleasant.
Instead, to win someone’s heart, crack open a bottle of the Italian herbal liqueur, Strega … literally translated as WITCH.
The liqueur itself packs a punch at 40%, with 70 different herbs including Ceylon cinnamon, Florentine iris, Italian Apennine juniper, Samnite mint, and saffron, which gives the drink a happy yellow hue. It’s a great winter tipple, and also fabulous to pour over desserts.
Strega is the stuff of legends. Distilled in Benevento, Italy, a town famous as the meeting place for all the witches of the world. It was at one of these witchy meetings that Strega came into being, devised as a drink that would tie lovers together forever.
The secret to any love spell is this—both parties must be willing participants. Early on in our relationship, I bought my guy a bottle of Strega. Then, as I poured him a glass, I told him tales of Benevento, the witches, and the power of the titillating tipple.
“Drink this and we’ll be bound in love for lifetimes.”
“How many?”
“I don’t know. A few. Want it or not?”
He did. He tossed it back with a wink. And every year since, on our anniversary, we share another shot. The poor bugger has no chance of escape now.
So all you would-be witches … don’t meddle in magic. Instead, call upon the spirits for some help with your love life, and make that spirit Strega.
Want more sporty spells? Check out my book Trouble Brewing.

I want some!