Chances are you’re going to be eating and drinking a lot tomorrow. Consider doing your body a favor by picking up an amaro to enjoy after all the turkey and stuffing has been cleared off the table. May we suggest one of the two new amari available at Vino: Zucca or Cardamaro (both from the fantastic importer Haus Alpenz). Amaro, literally Italian for “bitter,” is usually drunk after a meal since they are believed to aid digestion.
Zucca, which means “squash” or “pumpkin” in Italian, is an amaro that actually uses rhubarb as its base ingredient (hence the name Rabarbaro Zucca), which is beneficial to the liver and has historically been used in Chinese medicine. Various zests, cardamom and other curative herbs are added to the rhubarb base and, after resting for 10 days, the spirit is filtered and bottled. This amaro is bittersweet and delicate, delicious with a little soda water and ice. It is featured prominently at the Zucca bar in Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II (above), where Gaspare Campari also introduced his famous drink in the 1860s.
Cardamaro is quite a different beast. From Piemonte, producer Giovanni Bosca uses wine from his estate as the base for this amaro. He then infuses the wine with two very curious ingredients – cardoon, which is a relative of the artichoke, and Blessed Thistle (above), which was once used in the middle ages to treat the bubonic plague. The distillate then rests in new oak for at least six months. The resulting spirit is less bitter than many amari, with a smooth, nutty, candied winter spice quality to it.
As no two amari are alike, your options are endless when it comes to choosing an amaro that’s right for you. Of course, we don’t expect you do try them all at once — it takes a little time and patience to sort through all the flavors to find the right match. But no matter how long it takes, we’re certain that by the end, you’ll be singing its praises at the dinner table this holiday season.
Zucca (1 liter)
$32
For more information please contact 212-725-6516 or info@vinosite.com.