amaro

Amaro means 'bitter' in Italian, from Latin amarus. The category encompasses dozens of regional Italian herbal liqueurs — each made from a proprietary blend of herbs, roots, bark, citrus, and spices macerated in spirit. Fernet-Branca (Milan, 1845). Averna (Sicily, 1868). Montenegro (Bologna, 1885). Campari (Milan, 1860). Each recipe is secret. Each region claims superiority. The arguments are endless and unsettled.

The tradition began in medieval monasteries and apothecaries. Monks macerated bitter herbs in alcohol to create medicines — digestivi — that settled the stomach after meals. The bitterness was the medicine. Bitter receptors on the tongue trigger digestive enzyme production. The folk remedy had a physiological basis that would not be understood for centuries. The monks were accidentally practicing pharmacology.

Italy's unification in 1861 created a national market for what had been purely local products. Amari from Sicily, Lombardy, Piedmont, and Calabria began competing with each other. Branding emerged. Fratelli Branca stamped their eagle logo. Salvatore Averna secured exclusive production rights. Gaspare Campari painted Milan red. By 1900, amaro was both a medicine and a social ritual — the digestivo after every Italian dinner.

The American amaro boom began around 2010. Bartenders in Brooklyn and San Francisco started using Fernet-Branca, Averna, and Cynar in cocktails. The Negroni — gin, Campari, sweet vermouth — became the cocktail of the decade. American craft producers began making their own amari. A category of Italian digestive medicine became the defining flavor of American cocktail culture. The monks would approve of the herbs. They might question the marketing.