Exploring the Wonderful World of Amaro with Stonecutter Spirits

While searching for a parking spot at our downtown store, you may have noticed we’ve accrued some new neighbors over the past year or so. Highball Social, one of our newest neighbors is a cocktail bar by Stonecutter Spirits that opened in the summer of 2018. You may have seen them set up during our COTS Tree Sale where they were selling hot toddies or at our DIY Holiday Shrubs & Simple Syrups class back in December. Most recently, we collaborated to host our first City Market class at Highball Social, Introduction to Amaro and we’re excited to continue to partner with them to expand our educational offerings.

Amaro, which translates to “bitter” in Italian is an herbal liquor that has long been popular in Europe but is gaining popularity in the U.S. as bars and restaurants have started to experiment with different cocktails featuring amari alongside other base spirits.

Will, the evening’s instructor started the class off with an overview of amaro, emphasizing its medicinal properties and inclusion of  macerated herbs, known as the “elixir of life.” We reviewed the table of tasting terms below before diving into the tasting component.

As the class prepared to taste a flight of six amari, we presented two charcuterie boards featuring some of our favorite local meats and cheeses alongside sweeter items to be paired throughout the tasting.

Will led the class through a tasting of the six amari listed below as participants shared their tasting notes and discussed bitterness levels, suggested pairings, and overall impressions.  

1. Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
2. Amaro Meletti
3. Averna
4. Cynar
5. Rabarbaro Zucca
6. Fernet Branca

Interested in learning more about amaro? Join us for our next class collaboration on Wednesday, March 27^th. Sign up or join the wait list here and check out an amaro cocktail recipe below:

Paper Plane by Stonecutter Spirits

Ingredients:

¾ oz each: Stoncutter Heritage Cask Whiskey, Nonino, Aperol, and lemon juice

Instructions:

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake for 10 seconds, strain into coupe and garnish with lemon twist.