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IItalians drink with a purpose. In this wine-soaked country, no dinner is complete without a bottle of vino. But just as important to the Italian way of life is the aperitivo and the digestivo—the typically bitter drinks that precede and conclude a meal. By now, you're undoubtedly an expert at sipping Negronis and spritzes, but with the ever-growin...

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In the hospitality industry, amaro is cool. It’s the shot that a friend insists on sending to the chef after a particularly special birthday meal. When an industry person comes in to dine at a restaurant, what does the team send them as a parting gift? Mini bottles of Fernet Branca, of course. And at the dive bar after an exhausting Friday shift, a...

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Standing next to a gleaming white marble bar in Palo Alto’s new Vina Enoteca restaurant, Massimo Stronati loads up a vintage cocktail cart with his amari arsenal, a dozen fancy-labeled bottles of the bittersweet Italian liqueurs that are making waves across the Bay Area bar scene. It’s no secret that California foodies have a thing for all things b...

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What’s amaro? No, it’s not what you get when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie. That’s amore. (Thanks, Dean!) That bitter liqueur your old-school Italian relatives used to drink after a big meal? Yes, friends, that is amaro — and NPR’s All Things Considered reports that it’s getting an “American revival.” Author Brad Thomas Parsons, who w...

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By Rosie Schaap Don't be bitter, we're told. But in American cocktail culture — especially its most rarefied, la-di-da precincts — bitterness has become a signifier of sophistication and discernment. A decade ago, bar patrons who wished to make it clear that they weren't into the sweet stuff might have requested something on the dry side or the so...

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By Lisa Futterman   Sometimes when two people love each other, they get together and make an amaro out of arugula. Italian-style amari, those classic bittersweet digestive liqueurs, have been cropping up on cocktail menus. Served neat to be sipped after dinner or shaken and stirred into all sorts of cocktails, amaro is an of-the-moment spirit.  ...

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Who would have thought the artichoke could garner such interest in the U.S. cocktail community? As Italian drink culture and tradition - from the aperitivo to amari - infiltrates drink rituals stateside, Campari America mounts a new campaign in the battle for bitter: Cynar® 70 Proof. Double the intensity and proof of original Cynar, the bartender-b...

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By Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya The lowdown: Before becoming commercialized in Italy in the 1840s, fernet, an aromatic bitter that's considered a sub-sect of Italian amaro, put down roots in medicine. One of its key ingredients, myrrh, has been used medicinally for thousands of years (also makes a great gift for a potential lord and savior).   When it...

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Amaro is Italy's bittersweet export that's all the rage. "Amaro," the word for "bitter" in Italian, is also a broad and loosely defined category of bittersweet Italian-born herbal spirits flavored through maceration. While consistently enjoyed in Western Europe for hundreds of years, only recently has American interest and excitement in amaro renew...

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The introduction of Averna and Braulio amaros to its American arm follow the Italian company's purchase of Fratelli Averna for €103 million in April last year.   The Averna brand was introduced to Campari's UK distribution arm, J. Wray and Nephew UK, in September. Previously it was distributed by Instil Drinks.   Read more   Source: http://ww...

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