Amaro refers to the class of bittersweet liqueurs, traditionally drank before or after meals. In recent years, it has become an increasingly popular cocktail ingredient due to its versatility to balance sweet and sour flavors with herbal and bitter flavor complexity.
Aperitivo
Aperitivi are a type of bitter liqueur, oftentimes bright and red in color with citrus notes. Often enjoyed as a light libation before meals to open up the appetite.
Don Ciccio & Figli Cinque Aperitivo
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 [...]
Lo-Fi Gentian 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 [...]
Rinomato Aperitivo
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 [...]
Rubin Bitter Grapefruit Aperitif
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 [...]
St. George Bruto Americano
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. [...]
Suze Liqueur
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 [...]
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Digestivo
Digestivi are a type of bitter liqueur generally enjoyed post meals to aid digestion. They are usually heavier in body than aperitivo-style amaro, with a full and complex spice profile.
Amaro Averna
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 [...]
Amaro Lucano
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 [...]
Amaro Meletti
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 [...]
Amaro Montenegro
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 [...]
Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
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 [...]
Amaro San Simone
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 [...]
Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro
#BarFaithBottleTalk: 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 [...]
Don Ciccio & Figli C3 Carciofo
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 [...]
Kuemmerling
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 [...]
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Fernet
Fernets are a type of digestivo that is typically most bitter and medicinal amongst amaro. It also tends to be more mentholated and higher proof than other amari. The most famous is Fernet Branca, but there are others!
Fernet Branca
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 Francisco
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 [...]
Fernet Leopold Highland Amaro
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 [...]
Geijer Spirits California Fernet
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 [...]
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