What is Amaro?
Amaros prepare you for what is to come and allow you to ruminate on what has been.
Amaros are bitter liqueurs, with origins in Italy — though most European countries have a tradition of similar bitter beverages. They are flavored with herbs, roots, and fruits, and historically were consumed as tonics to restore health. Before the advent of large industrial spirit production, all of these were hyper-regional, using the produce and native flora of the immediate land.
How do we taste bitterness?
Bitterness is a the most complex flavor set. The human mouth has one receptor for sweet and salty, and twenty-five for bitterness. As a result, there is far more subtlety in the flavors of bitterness than sweetness. Evolutionarily, we taste bitter as a warning for poison (yum!). Probably because of this, the preference for bitterness as a flavor tends to be learned – most children don’t like bitter things; most gourmands do.
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How to drink Amaro?
Traditionally, there are two times to drink a bitter drink: before your meal or after (or both). Bitterness activates saliva and gastric juices, which stimulates the appetite and aids digestion – hence “aperitif” and “digestif.”
Bitter liqueurs, like Brucato, are often mixed with soda, sparkling wine, or both,* before dinner, or served neat or on ice after dinner. They also feature in classic cocktails, like the Negroni, and are favorites among modern bartenders for all variety of new cocktails. Brucato Amaros were created to be delicious in both the traditional and the modern usage.
*We like the classic 3-2-1 recipe: 3 oz sparkling wine, 2 oz Brucato Amaro,
1 oz soda. But it’s hard to get this one wrong.
