Amaro, simply put, is a liqueur fortified with bittering herbs, honey or sugar and aromatics, often served after a meal. Italian in origin, the flavors showcase ingredients found in each region, where often the beverage gets homemade and dolled out to visitors and family.
In the United States, amaro isn’t nearly as well-known as other liqueurs, and its distinct flavor profile can make it polarizing. But commercially bottled versions increasingly can be found on the shelves of top restaurants. While most don’t offer homemade amaro (well, one place in Colorado does), many have curated a list, ranging from very bitter to sweeter. Some also offer amaro cocktails. With so many options, it’s a good time to get a taste of Italy’s old-school, herbal drink and learn not just how it plays into the meal, but how each dram speaks to a place as well.
For all these reasons, amaro has long been part of the beverage program at Spuntino, owned by husband-wife team Elliot Strathmann, who runs the bar, and chef Cindhura Reedy. It was their first trip to Italy a decade ago that introduced them to the drink, and they’ve been hooked every since.
Though, added Strathmann, they tried a lot of pungent and super bitter ones while traveling, not always enjoying the outcome.
“Even if we didn’t like all the stuff at all back in those days, it was one of the charming things about dining in those little Italian restaurants,” said Strathmann. “Then, I started making my own digestifs. It’s a little way of paying it forward now that we have our own place.”
In fact, he added, Colorado boasts 12 wild species of the plant gentian. Traditional amari using gentian include Amaro Lucano, Fernet-Branca, Nardini Amaro and Ramazzotti. However, he added, the Colorado gentian proves quite different and less bitter than the ones grown in Italy.
“The two main amari that I have kept going for years include an alpine style that is modeled from those made in the Italian Alps,” he said. “There’s an Ayurvedic amaro that I have had fun with, too, and the first version of that was around 2018.”
For the latter, the Ayurvedic aspect runs in tandem with Reedy’s splash of Indian ingredients woven into the Italian food they serve. Another way the two ideas go together, added Strathmann, is that Ayurvedic medicine goes back thousands of years, and in the 18th and 19th centuries, amaro was more medicinal than an after-dinner treat.
On average, Spuntino’s wine list boasts about 25 amari, though Strathmann said there may be more like 60 in the restaurant, often in the form of special bottles he picks up here and there. Prices range from $7 to $20 for a small glass, which covers anything from the artichoke-based Cynar 70 to Cappelletti Amaro Alto Verde to Foro Amaro. Spuntino also serves Fernet-Branca, made mainstream by hipster bartenders who like to dole it out as a shot. Often called by the first part of its name, Fernet, this brand dates back much further: It was launched in Milan in 1845.
While some may look down on this brand because of the bar culture behind it, Strathmann has long had a soft spot for Fernet. In fact, he makes his own version and sometimes breaks out a vintage bottle of classic Fernet and a more modern version to sample along his own.
“Amaro is a conversation we have on a nightly basis, and our staff is well-versed in having that conversation,” he said, urging customers to ask questions and explore his beloved beverage. “We are always happy to pour a little sip for someone who’s curious, and we do a formal flight, too.”
At the Southern Italian restaurant Coperta in Uptown, guests can dabble in amaro through flight form, too. For $20, get three pours of amaro, which diners can pick themselves from the list of 20 or so bottles, or ask the bartender for recommendations. The after-dinner drink occasionally shows up in cocktails as well.
“I think if people are into Negronis or Aperol Spritzes, that’s usually a good indication that they would be interested in amaro, too,” said JP Taylor Jr., wine director and co-owner of Coperta and its sister restaurant, Apple Blossom. “We are always happy to interact with those who want to learn more, if you see something [that interests you], say something.”
The inclusion of amaro in the drink program plays into the regionality of Coperta, and the authenticity of what Taylor and fellow co-owners Aileen V. Reilly (his wife) and chef Paul C. Reilly (her brother) have focused on. Because amaro tells the story of the land and what’s growing there, each village, restaurant and house in Italian villages tend to have their own versions. Plus, going from one end of Italy to the next leads to different flavor profiles as the local ingredients and climate change.
“I find a good rule of thumb for amaro is to look at a map to see where the amaro is from, with the north being more bitter and the south being a bit sweeter,” said Taylor. “Some areas in Italy have been drinking amaro for hundreds of years.”
Amaro isn’t new for Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder, either. For over 10 years, the restaurant has showcased a grappa cart, offering everything from amaro to grappa to Tokaji, a sweet wine from Hungry, which they sell by the crystal spoonful.
“Being an Italian restaurant, a digestivo is part of the dining experience, and a lot of our guests have had experiences with amaro,” said Jeremy Schwartz, lead sommelier for Frasca. “It has definitely increased in popularity, and people being knowledgeable about it.”
Not only does the cart give diners a true look at a range of digestifs, small surprises and vintage bottles become available from time to time. One memorable pour, said Schwartz, was a bottle of Braulio from the 1950s, and another was a decades-old Campari cordial, made before Campari became the brand we know today.
“It’s fun. Other tables, when they see the grappa cart go out on the dining room floor, they ask about it,” said Schwartz, adding that the cart opens up the amaro conversation even more. “We bring it over and ask if they have had amaro before, and if they have, ask what style they like. If not, we introduce them to a less bitter, more accessible one.”
While pairing amaro with Italian food is an obvious choice, for Heeji Kim, the general manager at Sap Sua in City Park, the drink also goes well with Vietnamese food.
“When we first opened, I wanted to have a great amaro program, it was one of my goals,” said Kim, who first learned about amaro while working at Tavernetta in Denver, also owned by the Frasca Hospitality Group that runs Frasca Food & Wine, Sunday Vinyl in Denver and Pizzeria Alberico in Boulder. A lot of the pairings work, she added, because Sap Sua isn’t a traditional Vietnamese restaurant.
“What we can achieve is endless. We can add in some Mexican ingredients, or a French beurre blanc like what’s in the shrimp cake,” she said. “There is no boundary of what we can or can’t add, and flavor-wise, I think amaro goes well with a lot of our desserts.”
Currently the list includes six bottles, such as Cardamaro, Fernet 1882 and Pasubio. However, added Kim, she plans on adding more. Guests can also try one of her favorite ways to sip Nardini Amaro: on the rocks with a hearty splash of soda water and a little lemon. It’s a good way to ease into the world of amaro.
“We also enjoy it in a cocktail or mixed into a cider, like Sfumato [Rabarbaro Amaro] with grapefruit radler,” she said. “In fact, I think it’s something we will add on to the happy hour menu.”
When sampling amaro straight for the first time, Kim recommends starting from the sweeter end and working up to the bitter. That’s what she did when learning about the drink at Tavernetta, which boasted 30 options at the time, all of which she delved into.
“I really had to study and taste a lot, but when I worked up from the light bitter to the strong bitter, it was just so fun for me,” she added. “I kept studying more and more and that’s how I got into it, and now there is nothing like it for me.”
Amaro isn’t the only after-dinner drink that falls into the bitter category. Many other digestifs similar to amaro include Germany’s Underberg, Switzerland’s Appenzeller Alpenbitter, anise-based absinthe and génépy liquors from France, and Hungarian Zwack.
Denver’s amour for amaro is growing, and the options that customers can find in Denver swell with our sweet and bitter love.
