by Ebony L. Morman

Jo Nencetti has a knack for making things look and taste good. Over the past few decades, the Charlotte native kept her hands busy creating, whether it’s framing pictures, brewing kombucha, or crafting herb-infused beer. The owner of Regal Reedy Bitters is a fan of hands-on work, and since 2022, she’s been pouring that passion into concocting new recipes for her small-batch bitters operation.

“I was meeting all these people who were actually working in that industry,” she says. “And I thought, what can I do to be like them?” 

Joining the N.C. Herb Association, an organization that supports herbal businesses through education and research, was it. That’s where she enrolled in a class about bitters, which elevate drinks with rich blends of herbs, spices, and roots steeped in alcohol to create infused flavors. They’re becoming popular as bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts use them to add complexity to cocktails

“I was just intrigued with how something that tastes so bad can be so good for you,” Nencetti says. “It’s not a very pleasant taste, but it’s so good for you. Once you start ingesting bitter foods into your diet, it starts getting your saliva flowing, and then that helps with your digestion.”

That bitter-sweet outcome and a trip to a local grocery store got Nencetti thinking. As she scanned their bitters selection, she noticed she had the ingredients at home. So she started making small batches at home and several years later, she’s turned that tinkering into a business.

Nencetti’s process is simple, she says. It involves taking the botanical material and soaking it — which is similar to infusing — in a high proof alcohol for several weeks. Then, the alcohol is strained off the plant material. After that, a bit of sweetener is added, and then it’s bottled. 

“It’s a lot of intuition,” she says. “I just put everything in one small test batch. If something comes out a little too strong, or if something needs to be added, then in the next batch, I’ll add or take away until I get it to where I want it.”

Flavors like Banana Puddin, It’s a Southern Thang, Carolina Black Water, and Femme Fennel are available for retail purchase at her online store and at pop-up markets around town. 

Carolina black water — black walnut hulls and leaves, cinnamon, clove, cacao, cardamon, wild cherry bark, maple syrup, and local whiskey — was the best-seller until It’s a Southern Thang came along. Nencetti developed It’s a Southern Thang’s recipe in collaboration with Bear Foods in Matthews. It incorporates Bear Foods honey, pecans, vanilla bean, cinnamon, dandelion root, wild cherry bark, molasses, and local whiskey. The two recipes are popular with customers because they’re best paired with a classic cocktail — the old-fashioned.  

Oftentimes, the names for each product come in the middle of the night, a result of insomnia. Other times, Nencetti gets inspired while working and listening to the radio, which is how Rolling on the River, a collaboration with Muddy River Distillery’s rum, got its name. She found inspiration in botanicals that grow along the Catawba River, as well. 

“I enjoy looking at plants when I kayak, and I’d already created the recipe but didn’t have a name,” she says. “Then, I was listening to the radio the day Tina Turner passed away, and I was like, ‘That’s it, rolling on the river.’ They played that song.” 

When it comes to the recipes, Nencetti gets ideas from food, restaurant menus, family, and friends. As for herbs and botanicals, she uses major brands, such as Mountain Rose Herbs, Starwest Botanicals, and Frontier Co-op. The local honey comes from area farms and farm stands, and most of the alcohol used for the extraction is local. She’s also adamant about sustainability, which is why waste gets composted. Nencetti takes empty spirits bottles back to Great Wagon Road so they can be refilled. She saves some bottles for a friend, who cuts them and uses the bottoms to make candles.

While Nencetti has progressed from selling pint jars to two quarts, running a “micro” operation is what sets her business apart, she says. Being the company’s sole employee means there’s a level of love and attention to detail that’s different from products manufactured in a plant. 

“I just love getting inspiration and then turning that inspiration into something that somebody might like,” she says. “I want people to enjoy what I make, and when I get positive feedback, it makes me feel good and like I’m doing something good for the community.”