Amaro (Italian for "bitter") is an Italian herballiqueur 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%.
Similar liqueurs have traditionally been produced throughout Europe. There are local varieties in Germany (where they are called Kräuterlikör), Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, the Netherlands, and France. But the term amaro is applied only to Italian products of this kind.
Amaro is typically produced by macerating herbs, roots, flowers, bark, and/or citrus peels in alcohol, either neutral spirits or wine, mixing the filtrate with sugar syrup, and allowing the mixture to age in casks or bottles.
Many commercial bottlers trace their recipe or production to the 19th century. Recipes often originated in monasteries or pharmacies.
Amaro is typically drunk neat, sometimes with a citrus wedge. It may also be drunk on ice, with tonic water or cola-flavoured sodas, as is common in the country of Argentina.
Medium – typically 32% alcohol by volume, with an even balance between bitter, sweet, and citrus tastes. Examples of this type are Montenegro, Ramazzotti, Averna, Lucano, Luxardo Amaro Abano, Amaro Bio, Amaricano.
Fernet – more sharply bitter than other amari. Examples include Fernet-Branca, Luxardo Fernet, Amaro Santa Maria Al Monte.
Light – Lighter in colour than others, usually with more citrus notes. Examples include Amaro Nonino, Amaro Florio, Amaro del Capo, Amaricano Bianca.
Alpine – flavoured with 'alpine' herbs, sometimes with a smokey taste, typically around 17% alcohol content. Examples include Amaro Alpino, Amaro Zara, Amaro Braulio.
Vermouth – Unlike other amaros, which are typically made from grain-based alcohol, vermouth amaro is wine-based. It is sweeter with more citrus, and very closely resembles the aperitif vermouth. Examples are Amero, Amaro Don Bairo, Amaro Diesus del Frate.
Carciofo – made with artichoke, usually around 17% alcohol content. These amari are usually taken as an aperitif, rather than a digestif. Examples include Cynar and Carciofo (multiple producers).
Tartufo – made with black truffles, bottled at 30% alcohol. Amari of this type are produced in the central Italian region of Umbria, which is known for its truffles, as well as in San Marino.
China (pronounced as kina) – made with bark of Cinchona calisaya. The oldest and most popular brand is China Martini, based in Turin.
Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commandaria wine, and the aromatised wine vermouth.
A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail is usually stirred with ice then strained into a chilled cocktail glass and garnished traditionally with a maraschino cherry. A Manhattan may also be served on the rocks in a lowball glass.
A bitters is traditionally an alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a bitter or bittersweet flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as patent medicines, but now are sold as digestifs, sometimes with herbal properties, and as cocktail flavorings.
Amaretto is a sweet Italian liqueur originating from the comune (municipality) of Saronno. Depending on the brand, it may be made from apricot kernels, bitter almonds, peach stones, or almonds, all of which are natural sources of the benzaldehyde that provides the almond-like flavour of the liqueur. It generally contains 21 to 28 percent alcohol by volume.
Apéritifs and digestifs are drinks, typically alcoholic, that are normally served before (apéritif) or after (digestif) a meal respectively.
Campari is an Italian alcoholic liqueur, considered an apéritif, of the amaro variety, obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It is a type of bitters, characterised by its dark red colour. It is produced by the Davide Campari Group, a multinational company based in Italy.
Unicum is a Hungarian herbal liqueur or bitters, drunk as a digestif and apéritif. The liqueur was created in 1790 and is today produced by Zwack according to a secret formula of more than forty herbs; the drink is aged in oak casks. During communism in Hungary, the Zwack family lived in exile in New York City and Chicago, and Unicum in Hungary was produced using a different formula. Before moving to the United States, János Zwack had entrusted a family friend in Milan with the production of Unicum based on the original recipe. After the fall of communism, Péter Zwack returned to Hungary and resumed production of the original Unicum.
Becherovka, formerly Karlsbader Becherbitter, is a herbal bitters, often drunk as a digestif. It is produced in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic by the Jan Becher company. The brand is owned by Pernod Ricard. It is made from a secret recipe based on more than twenty types of herbs and spices.
Cynar is an Italian bitter apéritif of the amaro variety. It is made from 13 herbs and plants, predominant among which is the artichoke, from which the drink derives its name. Cynar is dark brown, has a bittersweet flavor, and its strength is 16.5% ABV. It was launched in Italy in 1952. A version with 35% ABV, called Cynar 70 Proof, became available in the 2010's.
Fernet is an Italian type of amaro, a bitter, aromatic spirit. Fernet is made from a number of herbs and spices which vary according to the brand, but usually include myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and especially saffron, with a base of distilled grape spirits.
Kräuterlikör is a type of liqueur that is flavored with herbs or spices and traditionally drunk neat as a digestif, very close to the concept of an italian amaro.
Zucca is a commercial Italian aperitif. Although zucca is the Italian word for "squash" or "pumpkin", it actually takes its name after Zucca's bar, located in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. Its base ingredient is in fact rhubarb, also combined with zest, cardamom seeds and other curative herbs. The liqueur has a delicate and pleasant bittersweet taste and is often mixed with soda water and ice.
Fernet Stock is a herbal bitters made in Plzeň-Božkov, Czech Republic. It is flavoured with approximately 14 herbs, imported from the Mediterranean and the Alps. It is also available in a sweeter form as Fernet Stock Citrus. The original Fernet is approximately 40% alcohol, whereas the Citrus is a lower 30%.
Davide Campari-Milano N.V., trading as Campari Group, is an Italian company active since 1860 in the branded beverage industry. It produces spirits, wines, and non-alcoholic apéritifs. From its signature product, Campari, its portfolio has been extended to include over 50 brands, including Aperol, Appleton, Cinzano, SKYY vodka, Espolón, Wild Turkey, Grand Marnier, and Forty Creek whisky.
Amaro Averna is an Italian liqueur in the Amaro category produced in Caltanissetta, Italy. It is named after its inventor, Salvatore Averna, who invented the recipe in 1868. This drink is produced on the Island of Sicily and is considered a traditional drink. The Averna company was acquired in 2014 by Gruppo Campari.
Fernet-Branca is an Italian brand of fernet, a style of amaro or bitters. It was formulated in Milan in 1845, and is manufactured there by Fratelli Branca Distillerie.
Fratelli Branca, formal name Fratelli Branca Distillerie Srl, is a distillery based in Milan, Italy, that was founded in 1845. Fratelli Branca makes an amaro digestif, Fernet-Branca.
Gran Classico Bitter is an alcoholic apéritif/digestif created following the "Italian Bitter of Turin" recipe dating from the 1860s. This recipe, which was originally produced under the name Torino Gran Classico, had been purchased in 1925 from a Turin-based distillery by the small Swiss distillery E. Luginbühl, located near Bern.
Amaro Lucano is an Italian herbal liqueur in the Amaro category. It is produced by Amaro Lucano S.p.A., a family-owned company based in Pisticci, Basilicata. The adjective "Lucano" comes from Lucania, another name for Basilicata.
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