Not sure about you, but I had an absolute humdinger of a holiday season: Between all the roasts and cakes, and punches and nogs, I am, even two-plus weeks later, in desperate need of a digestivo or two. What’s a digestivo (or if you prefer le français, digestif), you may ask? It’s any after-dinner drink — from sambuca to cognac — that’s supposed to settle the stomach and soothe the overworked digestive tract after a meal.

There’s very little hard science to back that up, sadly, but anecdotally it checks out…or at least it’s the perfect, lower-proof way to ease into the later bits of the evening. So today, I’d like to talk to you about one of the most iconic digestivi: the glorious Italian bitter liqueur, amaro.