cynar

From Italy. A very bitter liqueur made from artichokes.

It's been compared to that horrible liquid that's created when artichokes are steamed too long and burn the pan, and you soak it to clean it.

Normally written with a capital "C" (it is a trademark), the Cynar liqueur is black in color and incredibly bitter.
In Italy we believe that bitter draughts will make your digestion easier, especially if you have stuffed yourself silly.

Now for the personal side: Cynar employed as a sponsor, for at least twenty years, a theatre actor called Ernesto Calindri.
Since the set of people that watch TV and read giant Cynar billboards in the Circonvallazione is much bigger than the set of theatre-goers, it followed that the man was often hailed in the streets as "the Cynar dude".
But the money must have been good, since he just kept doing it, kind of like Isabella Rossellini for Lancome.
Calindri was a member of the Democrazia Cristiana party, so that is why Cynar is an essentially conservative drink.

Don't drink it. Have a nice stiff grappa instead.