Drinks
Upgrade Your Home Bar With an American-Made Amaro
Long associated with Italian distillers, bitter herbal liqueurs make inroads in the land of Bud.
From left: Forthave Spirits’ Marseille, Fernet Leopold Highland Amaro, and Bruto Americano.
Photographer: Janelle Jones/Bloomberg
Italy doesn’t have a monopoly on bitter liqueurs, though it often seems that way. Campari, Cynar, Aperol, and their ilk are commonly called by their Italian name, amaro, and have been widely enjoyed in European spritzes for generations.
And while Negronis and other classic cocktails that require these herbal digestivos have become popular in the U.S., the ingredients aren’t traditionally made stateside. That’s about to change, though, as a handful of producers boldly endeavor to awaken the land of Bud to the beauty of bitterness.