What is Amaro and how is it made?
What Is an Amaro? One of these spirits of any kind is amaro, an herbal liqueur whose name in Italian means “bitter.” While different versions exist throughout the world, amaro is specifically Italian. It is made from infusing a base alcohol (grape brandy, neutral spirits, or wine) with a proprietary blend of herbs, roots, flowers, and spices.
Is Amaro Italian-only?
Amaro is now commercially produced primarily in Europe and North America, although bitter spirits are no stranger to most parts of the globe. There are Italian producers that are diligently seeking to create a rule that would require the category of amaro to be Italian-only, but in our opinion, the proverbial cat is out of the bag.
What does Amaro taste like?
Despite the name, an amaro may have varying degrees of bitterness and may actually taste sweet (find a short list of amari from easy to intense here ). The recipes are as varied as the Italian landscape and as secret as nonna’s tomato sauce.
What is Sicily’s best Amaro?
Perhaps Sicily’s best-known amaro export, Averna was born in Caltanissetta in 1868 when a Benedictine monk from Abbazzia di Santo Spirito gave the recipe as a gift to Salvatore Averna. The magical formula included such botanicals as pomegranate seeds, sage, bitter orange, licorice, juniper and sap resin.
Is amaro the same as Campari?
Amaro is the family of Italian bitter liqueurs that Campari is a part of. A few choices are Knight Gabriello Rosso Amaro or Aperix Aperativo. These red amaros don't have exactly the same flavor as Campari, but they're bittersweet and herbal. They also have a similar color!
How do Italians drink amaro?
Traditionally, amaro is served straight up or on the rocks in a tumbler or shot glass. A slice of lemon or orange rind is sometimes added and the bitterness can be diluted with seltzer water on a warm day, or with hot water in cold climates.
What is the difference between a liqueur and an amaro?
The term amaro, which is Italian for “bitter,” refers to a variety of liqueur that's savoury and bitter. After dinner as a digestivo, it's customary to drink an amaro, which is also the name for an Italian liqueur with a flavour profile comparable to vermouth.
What alcohol is in amaro?
Amaro is traditionally made by infusing grape brandy with a (usually secret) mix of herbs, flowers, aromatic bark, citrus peel and spices — a blend that can include anything from cardamom to elderberry flowers. Then it's sweetened with sugar syrup and aged, sometimes for years.
Is Jagermeister a amaro?
Technically, Jägermeister is a spicy schnapps, though it's sometimes categorized as an amaro, a group of bittersweet, herbal Italian liqueurs which have become increasingly popular here in the U.S., consumed both neat and in cocktails.
Should you refrigerate amaro after opening?
Feel free to keep your amaro, arancello, limoncello, etc., as long as you like. Unlike our other liqueurs, Genziana Fernanda will degrade over time. For prolonged freshness, it's best to refrigerate it after opening. The liqueur will not “go bad,” per se, but it will oxidize slowly if not properly stored.
Why do Italians drink amaro?
Meaning “bitter” in Italian, amaro is a bittersweet, herbal liqueur that's traditionally enjoyed before or after dinner to aid in digestion and calm the palate.
Is amaretto same as amaro?
One should not confuse amaretto with amaro, a different family of Italian liqueurs that, while also sweetened, have a stronger bitter flavour derived from herbs.
What does Italian amaro taste like?
Amaro (Italian for 'bitter') is an Italian herbal liqueur that is commonly consumed as an after-dinner digestif. It usually has a bitter-sweet flavour, sometimes syrupy, and has an alcohol content between 16% and 40%.
Is drinking amaro good for you?
A glass of amaro is a must after a good meal. First introduced as a medicine, the liqueur is excellent for digestion – plus it's a reliable hangover cure. Its bitter reputation is not only well-deserved but evergreen.
Why do people drink amaro?
Italy is considered the birthplace of amaro. Medieval monks mixed botanicals with a wine or spirit base, creating various bitter tonics, mainly for medicinal purposes, such as to alleviate bloating or cramps, to improve digestion and to stimulate appetite.
Do you drink amaro on its own?
How to Serve Amaro. For the most part, you'll find bittersweet amaro, like Fernet-Branca, served neat as an after-dinner drink. Traditionally consumed at sundown or enjoyed as a midnight digestif, amaro that is dark, full-bodied, and densely spiced aids with digestion and makes for an ideal nightcap when served neat.
Do you sip or shoot amaro?
Simply pour a shot of amaro into an espresso, add sugar if you prefer, and sip away. A minty fernet works well in hot chocolates. There's a growing market for amaro for use in cocktails.
Do you drink amaro on its own?
How to Serve Amaro. For the most part, you'll find bittersweet amaro, like Fernet-Branca, served neat as an after-dinner drink. Traditionally consumed at sundown or enjoyed as a midnight digestif, amaro that is dark, full-bodied, and densely spiced aids with digestion and makes for an ideal nightcap when served neat.
Why do Italians drink amaro?
Meaning “bitter” in Italian, amaro is a bittersweet, herbal liqueur that's traditionally enjoyed before or after dinner to aid in digestion and calm the palate.
Do you drink amaro before or after dinner?
Amari (that's the plural of amaro) are digestifs, or digestivi in Italian, meant to be consumed after dinner, and can range from low-ABV (around 15%) to the ABV of a regular spirit (45%).
Amaro Basics
There are a few things to note about amari. First, there isn’t an official definition for the amaro category. As a result, the flavors, strength of bitterness, and ABV (15-45%) will vary widely in each. Often, neutral alcohol or brandy will be used as the base. But other distilled spirits can be used.
Cynar
Pronounced chee-nar, this Italian digestivo first hit the Italian market in the 1950s. Cynar was founded by Venetian entrepreneur Angelo Valle Molle and is distilled from a blend of 13 herbs, as well as artichoke leaves—the star ingredient from which the Italian amaro gets its name.
Averna Amaro
Averna Amaro was first made in Sicily by the Averna family in 1868, after the recipe was gifted to them by Benedictine monk Frà Girolamo. Since then, descendants of the brand’s founder Salvatore Averna have passed the recipe down through the generations and have grown the brand to a level of international fame.
Ramazzotti Amaro
Ramazzotti Amaro was created in 1815 by Ausano Ramazzotti who owned an herbalist shop in Milano. The bitter liqueur includes 33 herbs and roots including angelica root, bitter orange, cardamom, clove, galangal, myrrh, rose petals, star anise, sweet orange and vanilla.
Amaro Montenegro
Amaro Montenegro is made with 40 botanicals using three processes: boiling, maceration and distillation. Some of these botanicals include: sweet & bitter oranges, petite dried oranges, coriander seeds, marjoram, oregano, artemista blend, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
Zucca Rabarbaro
The recipe for Zucca Rabarbaro dates back to 1845 when a doctor prescribed rhubarb and medicinal herbs to Tilde Zucca to aid her digestion. Her husband Ettore decided to add alcohol to the concoction. It became quite popular in Milan’s cafes as an aperitif as well as other European cities.
Amaro Lucano
Lucano Amaro is made in the town of Pisticci Scalo in Basilicata, Italy. It is made from more than 30 herbs and spices, some of which are disclosed. They include: angelica root, bitter aloe, bitter orange, blessed thistle, clary sage, elderberry, gentian, musk yarrow, ruta and woodworm.
The Easy-Going Aperitivi: Campari & Aperol
These bright red-orange spirits are most commonly served as aperitivi in cocktails like the ubiquitous Aperol Spritz, Campari Soda, Negroni, Negroni Sbagliato—and the list goes on.
The Gateway Amari: Montenegro, Nonino, Vecchio Amaro del Capo
Montenegro, Nonino, and Vecchio Amaro del Capo are on the lighter end of the spectrum—both in color and flavor, making them perfect gateway amari. Montenegro’s recipe dates back to 1885 and has 40 botanicals from around the world, including orange peel, coriander, nutmeg, marjoram, cloves, and cinnamon.
The Sweet Sicilian Sipper: Averna
Averna could be considered a gateway amaro, but is a bit more intensely sweet and flavorful than the others. It was born in the Sicilian village of Caltanisetta in 1868 and is still produced there, using a secret recipe of roughly 60 ingredients that get macerated and infused in a neutral spirit.
The Alpine Amaro: Bràulio
Though you can’t really talk about terroir in relation to amari, Bràulio has a distinct pine-y taste, closely linked to its Alpine origins in the picturesque village of Bormio. It was born there in 1875 and, though it’s now part of Gruppo Campari’s portfolio, it’s still made by the same family.
The Artichoke-Laced Sipper: Cynar
The big artichoke on the bottle is a dead giveaway—this Mediterranean thistle is one of the ingredients that gives this amaro its bitter, herbal taste. With a recipe that traces back to 1952 in Venice, it’s one of Italy’s younger amari. This dark brown liqueur has strong caramel notes.
The Cola-esque Amari: Meletti & Ramazzotti
Meletti and Ramazzotti are both made from kola nut, the same ingredient used to create the distinct caramelly flavors of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper. As Teague puts it, “if Meletti is Coca-Cola, Ramazzotti is Dr.
The Smoky Campfire Amari: Zucca Rabarbaro & Sfumato Rabarbaro
Rabarbaro means rhubarb in Italian, but this amaro has nothing to do with the sweet and tangy taste of rhubarb pie. It’s made using Chinese rhubarb, which takes on a subtle smoky flavor when dried.
Chinato - A style of liqueur using cinchona bark, which originated in Piedmont, Italy
Chinato - A style of liqueur using cinchona bark, which originated in Piedmont, Italy
Tartufo - An amaro made with truffles, a rare product outside of Italy
Tartufo - An amaro made with truffles, a rare product outside of Italy
Miscellaneous - An amaro that has some quality that makes unusual, either by ingredient or provenance
Miscellaneous - An amaro that has some quality that makes unusual, either by ingredient or provenance
Head to Italy, the homeland of amaro, to learn why bitter is better
Amy Zavatto has two decades of experience writing about wine, spirits and food and consults for restaurants and wine and spirits retailers.
Averna
Perhaps Sicily’s best-known amaro export, Averna was born in Caltanissetta in 1868 when a Benedictine monk from Abbazzia di Santo Spirito gave the recipe as a gift to Salvatore Averna. The magical formula included such botanicals as pomegranate seeds, sage, bitter orange, licorice, juniper and sap resin.
Braulio
Just over the border from Switzerland sits the mountainous area of Bormio in the province of Lombardy, where this Alpine amaro is made. Its 13-botanical combo was perfected back in 1875, but to this day only four of those elements are publicly known: gentian, yarrow, juniper and wormwood.
Cynar
Let the label art be your guide. Artichoke leaves are indeed the main event in this savory amaro, but it’s no one-trick choke; it also claims an ingredient list that’s a baker’s dozen of botanicals.
Fernet-Branca
The amaro that launched a million tattoos, Fernet-Branca, invented in 1845 by Bernardino Branca, is the brand of fernet-style amaro that separates the cautious whistle wincers from the wide-open flavor wanderers.
Montenegro
If there’s an amaro welcome wagon, Montenegro earns the title with its cheerful sweet and bitter orangey aromatics that bartenders find to be so much fun to play with in cocktails and make it easy to love on its own. Those orange notes are well-complemented by ones of nutmeg, cinnamon, marjoram, coriander and clove, among others.
Nonino Quintessentia
This elegant easy-to-love amaro is made in Friuli by the Nonino family, who’ve been distilling grappa since 1897. Gently bitter with notes of orange, saffron and tamarind among its mix of botanicals, its more-herbaceous edges are softened by spending five years in barrique and used sherry casks, which contributes to a faint nuttiness.
