Don Ciccio & Figli C3 Carciofo. I somewhat recently ran out of Cynar (the first amaro I ever owned after Campari, way before I even knew what an amaro was). This reminded me to bust out my bottle of C3, an American-made artichoke-focused bitter liqueur similar to the famous Cynar…
Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro. This is a bittersweet liqueur that is smoky and earthy. Though Cappelletti is perhaps best known for their red-orange aperitivo, the family-run Italian company has quite the varied amaro portfolio! Amaro are bittersweet liqueurs frequently imbibed to help with digestion post-meals, and “Rabarbaro” is a particular sub-style…
Suze Saveur d’Autrefois Gentian Aperitif. Suze is a French bitter liqueur primarily flavored by yellow gentian root. Gentian is a suuuuper popular herbal ingredient used in a lot of famous botanical liqueurs – Campari, Angostura bitters, and many more. Suze (and its sister products like Salers, Aveze, etc) will give…
Amaro Lucano. This is one of the most well-known and popular bittersweet liqueurs (“amaro”) in Italy. It’s been on my wishlist since I got back from my Italy trip over a year ago, where I spent a good chunk of time scouring all the backbars, grocery store shelves, and coffeeshops…
Rinomato Aperitivo. This is an aperitivo-style bittersweet liqueur that falls somewhere in between Campari and Aperol. While today’s Negroni-obsessed cocktail culture is increasingly embracing bittersweet flavors, I know there are plenty of people who’ve yet to develop a palate for the bitter viscous intensity of Campari, and while Aperol is absolutely delicious,…
Geijer Spirits California Fernet. Fernet is often synonymously used to refer to Fernet Branca, but fernet is actually an entire category of spirit, and there’s quite the variation within the group (fernet is the product type, while Branca is the distillery name). Fernet is a sub-category of amaro, which is…
Don Ciccio & Figli Cinque Aperitivo. Negroni Week is in full swing…are you maybe out of Campari, tired of Campari, can’t stand Campari? Well, let’s about about other Bitters. American-made Don Ciccio & Figli Cinque is a reddish liqueur highlighting bitter orange and gentian, an obvious alternative to Campari/Aperol. Compared to…
Fernet Francisco, Manzanilla edition. This is the 2nd iteration of the growingly-popular Bay Area-made fernet. Fernet, the bracingly bitter, minty, and herbaceous liqueur and sub-class of traditional bittersweet Italian amaro, has developed quite the strong identity with San Francisco as an adopted child of its hipster culture. San Francisco alone accounts…
Amaro Nonino Quintessentia. This is an Italian amaro (traditional bittersweet liqueur) that is quite popular in modern craft cocktail culture, perhaps most notably in its use in the Paper Plane. The base spirit of this liqueur is a unique variant of grappa, a spirit made from pomace (the leftover remains…
CH Distillery Rubin Bitter Grapefruit Aperitif. OMG I have found my bitter soulmate. So, this is a very bitter, very unique grapefruit liqueur/amaro made at a craft distillery in Chicago. I discovered this at a bar last month, and it absolutely blew my mind. I’ll say, this strong flavor is…
Amaro San Simone. One of the side missions for my recent Italy trip was to seek out and try all the local amaro. Well, I left Italy with a single one (mostly bc I couldn’t fit more in my luggage), and it’s none other than Amaro San Simone from Turin.…
Amaro Montenegro. Sooo, I’m super excited to be heading to Bologna in a couple weeks – the food capital of Italy! And what else, Bologna is also the home and birthplace of the popular Amaro Montenegro. I’m quite intrigued by this bottle. Montenegro has become quite a staple and popular amaro…
Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro. This is a classic California-made amaro that highlights the beauty of this region I now call home. I discovered this at the Craft Spirits Carnival earlier this summer in San Francisco, where I tasted all 3 of the Lofi products – sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, and this…
Kuemmerling. It’s good to note that while traditionally Italian-made amaro has been the largest and most well known contributor to this category of bittersweet and herbal spirits, there are many other popular and delicious amaro from other countries across the world. Today we look at Kuemmerling, a German semi-bitter digestif. Kuemmerling…
Amaro Averna. Annnd Amaro Week continues! This week we’re celebratin’ the bittersweet herbal liqueur group known as “amaro,” and I think this bottle was the first one that introduced me to that word. I used to always assume that “Amaro” referred specifically to Averna since I’d always seen this referenced…
Amaro Meletti. Amaro is a classification of liqueurs (traditionally Italian-made) that are bittersweet, herbal, and complex, with flavors that are difficult to describe. They are traditionally drank after (or before) meals to aid with appetite and digestion. They’ve become an increasingly popular ingredient in craft cocktails in recent years, and you’ve…
Fernet Leopold Highland Amaro. I recently got back from a trip through the American southwest desert enroute to Denver and OF COURSE I had to check out the local booze. I had heard about Leopold Bros and seen a few of their bottles in stores but never tried it, and…
Fernet Branca. Living in San Francisco, a city where you’ll see a bottle of this at even the diviest of dive bars (with the pint & fernet shot special), it’s about time we talk about Fernet Branca, right? Even though Fernet Branca was born in Italy, SF is one of…
Campari. Although I’ve refrained from actually incorporating Campari in my Negroni variations this week, we obviously cannot go thru Negroni Week without talking about the famous Campari. Campari is an Italian bittersweet liqueur that is traditionally drank as an aperitif before dinner to open up the appetite, usually with water/ice…
Cynar (pronounced chee-nar) – artichoke liqueur, whaaat?! As strange as it sounds, Cynar is a modest 16.5% ABV amaro made with artichoke (aka “cynara scolymus”), along with 12 other herbs/plants. As with all Italian amaro, it’s an intense bittersweet liqueur oozing of herbal flavors that are difficult to describe, great…
Aperol, the lighter, fruitier, less bitter cousin of the more well-known Campari. Have you heard of the Aperol Spritz? If so, that’s living proof that the company’s humongous marketing efforts are paying off. Aperol has invested heavily in advertising over the past half century, with their first commercial launched in…
St. George Distillery in Alameda California was my first venture into small-operation craft distilling (back when it was still Hangar One)….I don’t think I even knew what a distillery was before my visit/tour at St. George! As such, there’s a very fond place in my heart for this amazing operation,…