Herbal Spotlight: All About Amari & how to make your very own

Amari have been around for centuries & are the secret stars of more & more cocktails these days, but many people are still unfamiliar with them -- A tragedy I am doing my best to remedy! 
​ Join me as we explore what they are, how to use them, & even how to make your very own at home!

Aperol, used here to make a Spritz, an amaro most peole are familiar with.

Let’s start by defining what an Amaro is exactly; an amaro is an herbal, bitter spirit made by macerating a [usually proprietary] mix of roots, spices, flowers & other botanicals into a neutral spirit base or wine. Named for the Italian word for bitter, amari [the plural of amaro] were originally imbibed as restoratives & digestion aids. There are accounts of amari dating back to Ancient Rome-- where overindulgence is decidedly ‘a thing’ it makes sense to start crafting a cure for it! By the 1800s, production was mostly taken over by monasteries, & amari ‘health tonics’ were readily available in apothecaries. They are commonly sipped straight up, over ice, or with the addition of a sparkling agent [soda water or sparkling wine] after meals to stimulate digestion.

While they originated as an Italian thing, amari are now produced all over the world, with amazing variations based on the local herbs used to produce them. Italy still relishes their use & enjoying an ‘aperitivo’ is extremely common there today. Aperitivo-style amari, such as Aperol & Campari, form an entire category that are often enjoyed in Spritzers & not always only after meals.

My Herbal Craft-Cocktail the Rear Window includes Apreol. Pic: Darren Setlow

AAmari are enjoying a resurgence in popularity today, with bartenders embracing their complexity in craft-cocktail making more & more. As the Negroni & the Aperol Spritz have regained popularity, the amaro has been invited to center stage. Once people are introduced to them, a true passion for amari is easily developed. It is a deep well to enter, with so many different types to explore. And, while I do enjoy playing with them in cocktail crafting, it cannot be denied that drinking them straight is an amazing experience. To hold a bit in the mouth on the palette & attempt to identify all the individual herbs you are encountering is a compelling & truly enjoyable experience.

While tasting the many amari of the world is fun, crafting your very own recipe at home takes that to the next level-- & is much easier than you might think! For those wishing to give it a try, I will lay out how here. There is no right & wrong in choosing your flavors; it is entirely a personal journey of taste. I will walk you through the basics of the maceration, sweetening, & aging process, but what you decide to craft yours from is ENTIRELY up to you. I'll share my process & many of the herbs & items I used to help get you started.

Make Your Own!

My freshly dug Angelica root

I used both orange and yellow Little Gems for their bitter flavor and color.

I was inspired to make this ‘Summer Garden’ amaro after harvesting my angelica root.  As I processed the huge root ball, its heady perfume filled my home, making it smell not unlike a bottle of Chartreuse! With that in mind, I stepped out into my early-July garden, & was determined to try to capture the flavors, scents, & colors blooming there. I was particuarly enamored by the idea of adding Little Gem Marigolds to my mix, hoping their delicious, bitter flavor & bright yellow-orange color would be prominent in the finished drink. [& they are!]  Here is a list of some of the herbs I used in mine: Lavender, Anise Hyssop, Elderflowers, Chamomile, Angelica Root, Little Gem Marigolds, Bee Balm, Rose, Violas, & Borage. Again, there is no right or wrong; you want a lovely mix of sweet, bitter, floral, & herbal-green notes. No such thing as too many -- keep in mind the centuries old Chartreuse recipe is said to include over 160 different herbs & spices!  To this mix, you will want to add some strong culinary herbs, such as rosemary, thyme or sage [or all 3!] & some citrus peel, such as lemon, grapefruit, or orange. It is not unheard of to include berries in your mix as well [strawberries are actually roses after all.…]  Go with what sounds good to you.  For this recipe, you want enough herbs & plant materials to fill a quart-sized Mason jar.

Craft Your Own Amaro  ~ Makes about 32 ounces  ~ Takes at least 6 weeks

~A blend of herbs & spices including flowers, leaves, & barks, fresh or dried, Enough plant material to fill a quart-sized mason jar. 
~5-8 sprigs of strong culinary herb [such as rosemary or thyme] 
~Citrus Peels, grapefruit/orange/lemon or a combination equivalent to that of 2 oranges. 
~Enough 80-proof neutral spirit to cover it,vodka is the easiest to source. If you have access to high proof neutral, you will get deeper flavor results.
​
~1 cup sugar [or sugar substitute] 
~1 cup water

Leave the flowers whole to incorporate their bitter reporductive parts in your mix.

Collect & clean your plant materials. Fresh is always preferred, but dry will work too, it just may take an additional week of maceration. DON’T OVER-THINK THIS PART!  Feel your way through what is available & growing fresh near you, & let your brain instinctively choose the ingredients! Leave your plant materials whole to include the reproductive parts of the flowers to capture each flower's bitter attributes!
​Add the fresh peels of the citrus [I used oranges] & the culinary herb/s of your choice. Loosely pack all the plants, peels, & spices you have chosen into your clean jar. 

 Slowly pour the plain vodka/alcohol over the herbs, filling the jar all the way to the very top to ensure all the materials are covered & nothing is sticking up above the surface. Put a piece of wax paper over the jar mouth & seal with a lid. Pop your jar away somewhere out of direct sunlight.

Pic: David Fenton

Every few days or so, give your bottle a shake. Let it sit & macerate for a full moon cycle [4 weeks.]  After this, give it a taste, keeping in mind we have not SWEETENED yet & see how it is coming. If you wish for a stronger amaro, or if you used mostly dried herbs, let it macerate for another week or so. If you are happy with your base, proceed to the next steps!
Once your base is where you’d like it, strain out all the plant materials, pressing as you strain. The plants will have absorbed a lot of your liquid while imparting their flavors!  Make a simple syrup by heating the water & sugar together until the sugar is fully dissolved & it comes just to a boil. Allow your syrup to cool completely, then add it to your infused alcohol base. *Many people will add only one cup of the syrup at this point & allow their amaro to mature, adding more ‘sweet’ later if desired. Remember the point of this sweetening agent to take the edge off the bitterness, not mask it completely! 

Again, how sweet you make it is up to the individual! I added all of my 1:1 syrup, knowing I had included many very bitter ingredients in my mix. Reseal up your jar & set it aside again to age with the sweetener added, at least another 2 weeks. During this time, the amaro will mellow & incorporate the sweet with the other extracted flavors.
If you are impatient to taste your creation, remember some amaros are aged for a year or more at this point!   You will be rewarded by a fuller, balanced flavor by waiting!

The root of this huge angelica is the star of my Summer Garden Amaro

Two weeks later, give it a try. You can add additional simple syrup if you feel it is needed, but most people will be enjoying their finished product at this point.
Decant it into a lovely bottle/s-- it will store for you indefinitely! Cheers!
Enjoy your creation straight-up after dinner, in Spritzers on hot days-- or get creative & play with it in cocktails!

That is it for this post. PLEASE let me know what you get up to; I adore hearing from you all & trying your creations! I hope you enjoy the process here as well as your results!
​Don’t forget to #StopAndEatTheFlowers