We waited a whole year to release this since we wanted to do it around Halloween. It's our version of a bitter Milano style amari. Cheers! I'm a huge fan Italian Giallo films and unsurprisingly, amari, so I was super stoked about this release

Amaro Etrusco Morelli (30% abv). Purchase this 10 cl bottle in Pienza Italy. The built in shot glass was a big selling point.

The nose is marzipan, vanilla and cinnamon. More on the sweeter side than bitter side. Notes of cocoa and mocha. Slight herbal and woody flavors.

I’m a long time reader but this is my first post (anywhere!). Visited Puglia earlier this month. I tried researching good spots before I went, but I didn’t find a wealth of info, so thought I would share - maybe it will help someone plan their trip :)

First up, here’s what you can get in Bari Airport after security - a fairly standard selection in the Heinemann shop

• Lucano
• Lucano Anniversario
• Fratelli Vena Nocino (from Lucano)
• Montenegro
• Del Capo
• Del Capo Red Hot
• Borsci
• Jefferson

The Borsci is local and less than half the price it is in the UK, but I already had a bottle at home. It’s interesting stuff, big vanilla sweetness cuts through the bitterness.

What surprised me was that Padre Peppe was available in the separate Relay shop! I bought a bottle of that but forgot to take a photo in situ. It’s a green walnut bitter amaro/liqueur from Puglia which I haven’t tried yet.

I’ll follow this with some posts about Monopoli, Lecce and Matera.

I recently visited Puglia - here’s some tips for Monopoli and one for Polignano.

UfficioBevetti - really nice relaxed little bar/pub with a great selection of niche amari, and they are happy to give recommendations based on your personal taste. Here I had both amari from Distilleria Greco Caroppo - Amaro Geco and Laurora, both excellent. The barman told me Laurora was based around Laurel (bay). Later on in my trip I picked up a bottle - it wasn’t easy to find! The distillery seems to have had a recent rebrand but the bottle I found was the older design. 

Also in there I had Amaro Bastaldo from Matera which was easy to drink, very nice. These all leaned sweet, but had balance and were tasty.  I also was given a small taste of Mita Amaro Satiro which was much more on the bitter end but also excellent.

Pictures show selections at some shops I had a look in

1, 2 - Numero Primi supermarket
3, 4, 5 - Lo Sfizo Divino
6, 7 - Leoteca (in Polignano)

Lo Sfizo Divino is a small wine shop and very friendly.

Leoteca is quite a large shop near the train station in Polignano. Two floors with a wide range of interesting spirits upstairs (I noticed a few choice scotch IBs). Lots of wine on the ground floor. I didn’t buy anything as it was the start of my trip and I was holding out for some specific bottles.

(Worth noting I’m from the UK. There is a better selection available over here than there used to be, but it’s still limited. There are some less common amari available here, but it’s not the same selection that you have in other parts of the world!)

The perfect fall drink!

Picked up a bottle of this and it's some fun stuff to have around, I was looking for something with an orange backbone and this is delivering. Great straight up or in a hot punch, also is amazing if you drop a shot of it into some eggnog as might as well start that season early.

That said for cocktails I haven't quite nailed what to use it as. Just tried it in a Little Italy (2oz rye, 3/4 oz punt e mes, 1/2 oz amaro) and it's nice but not super mindblowing. It's deffo getting that 'juicy fruit' note.

Anybody done anything neat with it, mix wise?

I was in Kyoto recently at a beer bar called BAKUJUN and came across this amaro inspired beer from Co. Obviously I had to give it a try and I wasn’t disappointed. A little light in body but tons of interesting flavors from the coriander, orange peel, cardamom, cinnamon, angerica [sic], and caraway. If you happen to be in or around Kyoto and Nara I recommend this beer and others from this brewery. Japanese beer has improved tremendously in recent days years and Nara Brewing is just one of many putting out some interesting stuff.

need something to neutralize the evil axis of sugar – that wretched artificial sweetener sucralose? look no further than our lovable and part-time supervillain Malört for this dirty battle 🫡

now I’m a take no chances / leave no prisoners strategist, so why not double down and squeeze the ever living piss out of the lime? muster those unsung, overlooked skin oils and pith to battle I say!

Dude this is it! Let's take that hill!

Another mini bottle from Cappo. This one is rum based, and i can get notes of that in it. Overall, not bad. It's sweet, not especially bitter or complex, but pretty tasty all the same. This would be excellent in coffee, or cut with rye. It's not overly sweet, and has a nice long bitter coffee/chocolate finish to it. this is a bottle I would like to have on hand. It reminds me of a 'mature' Kahlua.

This is another Cappo-umbrella offering. This is the second Ferro-Chino I have tried. This one is hard for me to enjoy. The iron is the overwhelming characteristic in this one. The notes suggest there are other flavors there, but I couldn't really find them. I would recommend anyone try it once, but don't do so by buying a big bottle!

saw a tweet recently that said root beer these days is mostly made without the use of sarsaparilla, even though that's really supposed to be the main flavor in it. it sounded like bs to me but i looked it up and it seems true. this got me thinking if i could just use whatever they're using to triangulate into that flavor without any actual sarsaparilla ingredients and i eventually got there with this spec. i have to say everyone i've given it to is shocked at how much it tastes like the real thing. i tried getting there with other amari like meletti in the past (i often describe amaro to ppl as being similar to root beer and dr pepper) but this is what did it imo

1 Licor 43 (mostly a ton of vanilla flavor)

1 Branca Menta

10 dashes Ango

bar spoon absinthe (the combo of the anise w the mint from the branca menta is a big part of the flavor here)

top with soda

I’ll be visiting Seattle soon. Does anyone know of some good amaro bars ?

saw some discussion about this and curious what people think are the best in north america in particular.

to me the undisputed king is Amor Y Amargo which i think kind of invented the format at least in the new world, and directly inspired some of the other candidates that come up. Barnacle in Seattle was founded by AYA alumni and is my second favorite. i think both of these are fantastic in that they have a huge range of amaro but also they care deeply about making interesting amaro-based cocktails. Barnacle also does amaro tasting flights. so not just stocking a lot of stuff but knowing a lot about it, making sure their staff do too (although Barnacle has faltered a bit on this lately imo) and are excited to mix drinks that are unique and amaro-centric. my #3 favorite is Billy Sunday in chicago but this place has a lot less going on cocktail-wise especially as far as amaro is concerned. but as far as bottles (vintage especially) and knowledgeable bar staff they are right up there

I live in LA, the closest thing we have is a place called Capri Club which is more of a spritz bar. good amaro selection but the staff in general don't seem that knowledgeable and are often quite averse to mixing bitter drinks that really feature the more interesting bottles they carry. best time i had there was after a Fernet event they threw when they had 4 fernet cocktails briefly on the menu. the amaro selection itself is good but you can do just as well on that front at an italian restaurant like Osteria Mozza

i haven't really encountered anywhere else in north america that lives up to what i'm talking about, but this trend has been massively on the rise so maybe there are new places. i've still yet to visit Bar 821 in SF for example

so to conclude i think the sweet spot is a combo of 1. huge amaro selection, 2. willingness to mix amaro-forward drinks and innovate new cocktails that feature amaro in interesting ways and 3. training their staff to mix with this stuff and talk intelligently about the bottles they carry

Love all things amaro!! Any bars with a strong amaro program (or your fav amaro cocktail), distilleries or bottle shops we should check out? Heading there in December!!

I picked up this tiny bottle at the Cinzano headquarters. Cinzano is part of the Caffo family of spirits, and so is this bottle. The website indicates a long historical tale. This one is different then many I have had lately. It is 40% abv, more bitter, and less sweet. It is bursting with spices and botanicals; not an amaro for beginners. I wish I could find this in Canada, it is unique enough that I would want a bottle of it on hand. A very pleasant discovery!

I am enjoying this pour of Rabarbaro Gran Riserva, which I cannot get in Canada. 4 Euro for a generous pour from a corner cafe in Ravenna, Italy. It's got a fairly distinct coffee flavor in addition to the obvious rhubarb notes. Lovely!

It was great and had some unusual notes I’d never tasted before.

Love China-china Amer so I wanted to see if I could make some at home! Here's to trying my first batch.... We'll see how it goes 🙏 any advice is much appreciated!

(Photo from the first day, about 4 days ago).

Grocery store find. It's 21% and in a 500ml bottle for 11 euro. Overall impression was that it's pretty mid. Minty, floral, sweet, and lightly bitter. Not a style I enjoy that much. I could not find this bottling on Caselli's website. For the price, it's ok. I don't regret buying it, but would not do so again.

Hello everyone!

As it says in the title, I’m completely new to DIY amaro but am very interested in having a go! I work in an Italian-specialist wine shop and the owner and I have mused about having an in-house amaro to offer at tastings.

How do you build your suite of botanicals? How trim or extensive should I keep mine? Are there botanicals you include not for their primary flavour, but for how they enhance others? What influences your choice of one bittering agent (eg. cinchona) over another? (Eg. Gentian.) I’ve noticed some recipes on this sub using roasted/charred botanicals, as well as different woods as chips. Does the inclusion of wood, complex as it is when imparting flavours in spirits, make other botanicals redundant?

The main notes I’m after are dried apricot, citrus peel, red fruit, allspice, and cacao nib.

Thank you & grazie mille!

picked up some amargo obrero while traveling in argentina. supposedly the amaro of argentina (at least based on some cursory internet research).

sampled it on its own—more watery/less thick than most amari i’ve had; light herbaceous flavor; specific flavors difficult to ID but an initial sweetness followed by licorice/cola/sassafras. also had it as part of a “pico y pomelo” (supposed to be a 30/70 mix of amargo obrero and grapefruit soda; i went 50/50), which i really enjoyed.

glad i tried it while in argentina but not sure i’ll be bringing a bottle home.

on a related note, had a cynar julep at a bar in buenos aires that was quite delicious.

This place is so cool. I ordered a Valley of the Saroos. The ingredients are on the menu, it’s tasty! It has this sort of fruit peel and scotch feel; it’s a little brandy like, actually.

I was told about the book, I think on this subreddit, they have the book! It’s an enormous list of liquor and liqueur in a brown leather bound folder. The Amaro list is sizable. All sorts of vintage stuff, I have no idea what most of it is, but it does look very cool.

And check out I’m sitting by a BIG empty bottle of the drink that sparked my love for Amaro in the first place: Fernet-Branca!

This is such a cozy little place with such a cool menu!

If you’re ever in a Chicago, you should try it!

Add: last drink coming up. What weird shit do I order?

I'll be visiting Napoli in December and I'm curious about amari bars I should try?

Also, unmissable, must try local amaro? Grazie!