We Love Amaro!!!

Love Amaro as much as we do? Can’t say we blame you! The stuff is delicious.

But what is it? How is it made? What to do with it?

Simply put, Amaro (plural, Amari) is medicine. The concept originates from Italy, where botanists and regular folk over the years have experimented with infusing spirits with herbs, spices, roots, and barks to create digestifs, which help digestion.

Thing is, while the flavors of these elixirs are heavenly and nuanced, they're often difficult. The name, Amaro, should tip off that bitterness plays an essential role here. There’s also a lesson to be learned about the ingredients: the essential oils that make them so delicious are also quite bitter when fully extracted. This means that while you may love one Amaro, don’t assume you’ll love them all. Each one is distinct, with different base ingredients depending on what’s available where they’re made.

In Italy, people often head down to their local market, see what herbs, barks, roots, and spices are available, and make Amaro for themselves. You could actually do the same thing. The real special ingredient in Amaro is time. Infusion takes at least 3 months, and sometimes much longer. Once the flavors and aromas you want have made their way into the base spirit, you then sweeten the concoction to taste.

Amari often work wonders in cocktails, though they can easily overpower a drink. Experimentation is the name of the game for finding what you’ll like. As a rule, don’t get overly complicated. Stay under five total ingredients. A good place to start is with cocktails that already have a very complex ingredient. A “Black Manhattan” is a delicious take on the class Manhattan where you replace Vermouth with Amaro. And, of course, there's the Perfect Negroni, equal parts Gin, Vermouth, and Amaro.

So drop on by and have a look at our extensive Amari collection. Ask one of our Catadores to show you a few of their favorites while you’re here!