Amaro and Bar Revel

On a recent trip to Bar Ravel, Cynar and Grapefruit were listed as a Highball combination. 

Curious, I asked about it and the bartender mentioned it was distilled with artichokes. Really?? I also wanted something that didn't have as high an alcohol content as the cocktail I'd just finished. 16.5% alcohol? Sold.

 I ordered that, and Rob had a Compari and soda. Both were so refreshing!

The bartender remarked both were amaros. I made a note so I could look it up later.

Amaro is a herbal liqueur whose name in Italian means 'bitter.' According to A Bar Above, it is made from infusing a base alcohol (grape brandy, neutral spirits, or wine) with a proprietary blend of herbs, roots, flowers, and spices. The concoction is aged in casks or bottles for various amounts of time, and the finished product can be anywhere from 16-40% alcohol by volume. Its origins reach back to ancient Rome, where food and nobles would imbibe herb-infused wine for its restorative properties. In the middle ages, monks swapped wine for alcohol; by the 1800s, amaro was being sold in pharmacies and hawked by peddlers as a health tonic across Italy.

Reading up on amari/amaros in The Drunken Botanist, I learned there is a particular gene allele that makes some people highly sensitive to bitter tastes, while others can't even detect it unless it's at high concentrations. This might explain why some people love Italian bitters and others can't stand them. Actually, I'm not sure whether I love the taste, or just the idea of Italian bitters... recipes guarded by families for centuries, herbal concoctions, lower concentrations of alcohol, cool labels and posters. 

I recently picked up Fernet-Branca as an ingredient for making the Toronto cocktail, intrigued by the description of 27 herbs, roots and spices; with licorice a predominant note. Definitely a distinctive taste.

So I have a collection of amari now on the shelf, ready for a tasting: Fernet Branca (licorice); Cynar (artichoke); Compari (oranges, rhubarb, ginseng); Aperol (rhubarb, bitter orange).

To try: a negroni with cynar used instead of compari.

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Bar Revel was quite the field trip!

I started with a Norman Foster (Bowmore and Ballantyne scotch, Raval Amaro, garnished with banana); Rob had a Magic City (Manzanillo Sherry, Wray and Nephew Rum, raspberry, lemon and absinthe).

The drinks menu provided plenty of inspiration for future Friday night cocktails to try at home. While it was quite the treat to watch a pro at work behind the bar, with all the special syrups and taps, it's a little too expensive to partake on a regular basis. Our 35th anniversary was the perfect excuse!

Festive garnishes and fancy treats like freshly toasted Marcona Almonds, marinated olives and Jamon Serrano helped make the experience memorable. Maybe something to add to the Friday night ritual?

Norman Foster

Magic City