Experience AMARO and Enjoy Easy Recipes with the Italian Liqueur

As you spend time at home, travel through Italy's Amaro-producing regions with a special tasting. This is an idea that will appeal to people looking to enjoy some delightful Italian style.

On a basic level, Amaro is an herbal liqueur and digestif commonly consumed after dinner, and sometimes before. With so many options, there is definitely an Amaro for everyone's tastes and drinking sensibilities.

You can also try out three excellent, easy to prepare cocktails that use Amaro. The specialty recipes help to change the flavor profile, ABV, and the bitterness of the liqueur.

Calabria: Vecchio Amaro del Capo

This ruddy amaro is herbal and seductive, revealing bittersweet flavors of orange, chamomile, licorice, and juniper. Serve frozen or chilled, and see how the drink's expressions change and develop as the temperature rises. It's herbal aromatics begin to give way to warm fruity flavors and great acidity to balance. It is very popular with Calabria locals and loyalists. Visit: https://www.vecchioamarodelcapo.com/en/authorization/?return_to=home.

Milan: Ramazzotti

Created from a secret recipe including 33 different aromatic plants and fruits from around the world including star anise, cardamom, bitter oranges from Curaçao and sweet oranges, whose flavor is the most prominent. Ramazzotti Amaro is sweet and gentle with notes of ripe plums, dark berries and cola, with a spiced finish and just the faintest bitter finish. Visit: https://www.ramazzotti1815.com/en/node/48.

Piemonte: Cardamaro

Cardamaro is a longstanding product of what is the tradition of using artichokes in Amaro in Canelli d'Asti. The primary flavors of Cardamaro are cardoon and blessed thistle, with a short repose in oak for spice and texture and a more vegetal taste. Drink as aperitif or digestif, outstanding with cider, or use in place of vermouth in many cocktails. Pairs well with saltier cheeses or charcuterie and lower in ABV than other regional amari. Visit: https://alpenz.com/product-cardamaro.html.

Emilia-Romagna: Casoni

Amaro del Ciclista ("Cyclist's Amaro") is a liqueur with a strong, distinctive personality, a full rounded amaro, the result of a mixture of 15 botanicals and a complex production process. It is a liqueur with strong herbaceous hints thanks to the herbal mix in which the strong flavours of cinchona and liquorice stand out. This amaro falls in the mid-range of ABV but gives up nothing in flavor. Visit: https://www.casoni.com/en/del-ciclista.

Adriatic Coast: Meletti

Meletti Amaro is made from a unique blend of flavors like sweet orange peel and gentian root, a local plant, along with notes of cloves, add a unique component to cocktails. Slightly cloudier and heavier in body, with notes of warming spice, dried fruit, and honey, it's the perfect thing to drink after a big meal. Visit: https://www.meletti.it/.

Bologna: Montenegro

The citrus element comes from orange peel, and the sweet component is the result of combining nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. A blend of four species of Artemisia helps balance the sweet side of Amaro Montenegro, giving the product a slightly bitter taste. Lovers of coca cola find nice heady notes similar to the soda, and it is a citrus-y balanced Amaro to pair well in cocktails. Visit: https://www.amaromontenegro.com/.

Veneto: Nardini

Balanced, citrusy, intense. L'Amaro Nardini is the perfect balance of flavors, with hints of licorice from the gentian root, peppermint and orange. This amaro is earthy and herbaceous, and very versatile for many different cocktails and food pairings. Top it off with a Luxardo cherry or two! Visit: https://www.nardini.it/en/amaro-nardini-bitter-liquor-246.html.

Check out these wonderful, simple recipes using Amaro.

Italian Buck
1 oz Amaro
1 oz Cognac
1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
4 oz Ginger Beer

Amaro Tonic
1.5 oz Amaro
4 oz Tonic Water
0.5 oz Lime Juice

Caffoni
1 oz Amaro
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Gin

Photo Credit: Drink images are courtesy of the Italian Trade Agency

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