9 Amaros to Try Right Now, According to Bartenders
If you’ve never had Amaro, what are you waiting for? This Italian herbal liqueur is the perfect after-dinner drink or nightcap.
Known for its bitter to bittersweet flavor profiles, Amaro is made by taking an alcohol base and infusing it with herbs and botanicals, including various spices, roots, flowers, and fruits, like how gin is flavored.
Fans of Amaro love it for its digestive properties. It’s often sipped neat, on the rocks, or mixed into cocktails. A favorite of bartenders, Amaros are wildly versatile, low ABV, and typically have a great story. They are layered—bitter, sweet, herbal, citrusy, spicy—all in one bottle, so bartenders can add a ton of flavor to their concoctions.
Below, you’ll find our favorite Amari to drink right now. Keep scrolling to see our picks so you can up your digestif game.
Amaro Montenegro
A bartender favorite for its floral, citrusy profile and balance of sweet and bitter. It is very versatile in cocktails and bartenders appreciate that it builds across the palate. It is a crowd-pleaser for guests who are new to Amari.
Amaro Nonino Quintesentia
Fruity, elegant, and smooth with a grappa base. Refined elegance and almost Cognac-like character thanks to its grappa base and aging process in small oak barrels. A must in a Paper Plane cocktail.
Amaro di Angostura
A new entry from the bitters giant. Complex and Caribbean-infused flavor of warm spice, molasses, and baking spice, it’s deep and rich with a syrupy backbone that reflects both its tropical origin and the bitters’ DNA. Plays beautifully in rum and tiki-style drinks. Can deepen a Daiquiri, Mai Tai and Espresso Martini.
Don Ciccio & Figli Luna Amaro
Italian-American craftsmanship, bitter orange, and botanicals—think artichoke, citrus, dried figs and roots that is not overly sweet or bitter—perfect for cocktail structure and balance. Great in coffee cocktails and used by bartenders as a less-aggressive Fernet-Branca.
Averna
This 58-proof after-dinner digestif has been made the same way in Sicily since 1868. Like many Amari, its ingredients are a closely guarded secret. But this bitter Italian liqueur is believed to contain bitter orange and lemon, juniper, mint, rosemary, and other spices, as well as pomegranate peels. It’s bittersweet, rich, and perfect for an evening nightcap.
Sfumato Rabarbaro
This Northern Italy-produced amaro gets its name because its ingredients include Alpine herbs, berries, and Chinese rhubarb root. Sfumato comes from the Italian word “for smoke.” This after-dinner staple is known for its flavors of rhubarb, spices, berries, orange peels, bitter herbs, and gentle smoke.
Braulio
This Italian herbal liqueur has been a popular digestif choice since it launched in 1875. Like most Amari, its ingredients are kept secret and passed down through generations. But it’s believed to be made with 100% natural ingredients, including spices, berries, herbs, and roots, including juniper, gentian, and wormwood. It’s matured for as long as two years in Slavonian oak barrels. The result is an herbal, bittersweet liqueur you’ll return to repeatedly.
Cynar
When it comes to unique ingredients, it’s challenging to beat Cynar. As the image on the bottle suggests, the main ingredient is artichoke leaves. Thirteen herbs and botanicals, including rhubarb and bitter orange peels, are also present. Sipped neat or mixed into cocktails, it’s known for its bittersweet, caramel, herbal, and spiced flavor profile.
Fernet-Branca
A favorite of bartenders and drinkers alike, Fernet-Branca is made with a grape spirit base and more than 40 herbs, botanicals, roots, and fruits. The actual ingredients are kept secret, but “The Bartender’s Handshake” is known for its flavor profile of eucalyptus, gentian root, and other herbs and spices. It’s often enjoyed chilled and neat among friends.
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