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Aperol
The gentlest way in. Aperol is bright orange, sweet-leaning and just 11% alcohol in its current bottling, built on sweet and bitter orange with gentian, cinchona bark and rhubarb. The Barbieri brothers launched it in Padua in 1919.
Its real job is the Spritz: three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol and one part soda over plenty of ice, with an orange slice. Neat it tastes a little like candied peel, which is fine on ice but not much more. If the Spritz starts to feel too sweet, that is your cue to move a step down this list to Select or Campari.
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Campari
The red bitter that holds up the Negroni. Campari goes back to Gaspare Campari's café in Novara in the 1860s, and it is far more bitter than Aperol, with a grapefruit-pith edge and 24% alcohol in the US bottling.
Gin, sweet vermouth and Campari make the Negroni; trade the gin for soda water and you have the Americano, the better pick on a warm afternoon. Campari and soda is so simple that the company has sold it premixed since 1932, in little cone-shaped bottles designed by Fortunato Depero. Even if you only ever make one drink with it, keep a bottle: it is the bitter every other aperitivo bottle gets measured against.
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Select (apéritif)
Venice's own answer to Aperol, and the bottle to pour when you want a Spritz with more backbone. Brothers Mario and Vittorio Pilla created Select in 1920, and its 30 botanicals lean on juniper and rhubarb root, giving a deeper red, drier and more bitter drink at 17.5% alcohol.
Build the Spritz exactly as you would with Aperol, then finish it the Venetian way with a big green olive: the brine sharpens the bitterness and makes the whole glass taste more grown-up. Select also works as a lighter stand-in for Campari in a Negroni when you want something a little softer.
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Cynar
Yes, there is an artichoke on the label, and no, it does not taste like a salad. Angelo Dalle Molle launched Cynar in 1952, built on artichoke leaves and 13 herbs, and at 16.5% alcohol it sits neatly between aperitivo and after-dinner bottle.
The bitterness is real but rounded by savory, vegetal notes and a dark, sweet middle. Try it first with soda and an orange wedge, then use it in place of Campari in a Negroni, or stir it with rye for something richer. Few bottles on this list do as many jobs for as little fuss.
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Suze (drink)
The French bottle on this list, and a bright yellow one. Suze is built on gentian root harvested in the French Alps and Pyrenees, a tradition the brand dates to 1889, and it tastes bitter, floral and a little citrusy rather than heavy or syrupy.
Pour it over ice with a lemon twist, or top it with tonic for an easy long drink. It is also the gentian liqueur in the White Negroni, created by Wayne Collins in 2001, which uses gin, Suze and Lillet Blanc in equal measure. Reach for it if you love Campari's bite but want something lighter in color and more herbal in character.
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Amaro Montenegro
The amaro most people fall for first. Stanislao Cobianchi created it in Bologna in 1885 and later named it for Princess Elena of Montenegro. Its 40 botanicals come across as orange, floral and gently sweet, with only a light bitterness at 23% alcohol.
Pour it over one big ice cube with an orange peel and it drinks almost like a finished cocktail. With soda it makes a low-alcohol highball, and in equal parts with mezcal it becomes a smoky little shot to share. If a friend says they do not like amaro, hand them this one.
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Amaro Meletti
A natural next step after Montenegro. Meletti comes from Ascoli Piceno in the Marche, and its herbs and fruits include saffron from the nearby Sibillini mountains, orange peel, gentian, clove, anise and violet. It is not too bitter and not too sweet, with a caramel finish, at 32% alcohol.
Sip it neat or on the rocks with a strip of orange, which brings out its bitter orange side. It also has the body for bold, stirred drinks, such as a Hanky Panky or an amaro twist on the Negroni. Choose it when Montenegro feels a little too floral and Averna a little too heavy.
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Amaro Averna
The benchmark for the rich, cola-dark style. Averna has been made in Caltanissetta, Sicily, since 1868, and at 29% alcohol it is neither too bitter nor too sweet, with a soft, cola-like body and a gentle bitter finish.
A chilled glass neat, or a large ice cube with a slice of orange, is the classic way to drink it after dinner. In cocktails it rounds out whiskey: use it in place of sweet vermouth in a Manhattan for a darker, mellower drink. If you are buying one amaro for a table of mixed tastes, this is the safest bet.
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Amaro Lucano
Close to Averna in weight, but spicier, with licorice and cinnamon up front. Pasquale Vena founded Amaro Lucano in 1894 in Basilicata, in southern Italy, and his family's fourth generation still runs it.
At 28% alcohol it is easy to sip neat, but the serve to try is Lucano with tonic water and a squeeze of lime over ice, which turns it into a long, bittersweet drink for a warm evening. Choose it over Averna if you like your dark amari with more baking spice and a little less caramel.
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Ramazzotti (liqueur)
One of the oldest names on the shelf. Ausano Ramazzotti created this amaro in 1815 at his herbalist's shop in Milan, from 33 herbs and roots including angelica, bitter orange, cardamom and clove.
At 30% alcohol it tastes of cola and pie spice, a shade more orange-forward than Averna. Drink it on the rocks with an orange slice, or lengthen it with soda for a bittersweet highball. It is a fine choice for anyone who already likes Averna and wants a sibling with a fuller spice cabinet.
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Vecchio Amaro del Capo
Calabria's own amaro, and the one to keep in the freezer. The Caffo family distillery makes it from 29 herbs, flowers, fruits and roots, including bitter and sweet orange peel, licorice, mandarin, chamomile and juniper, and it is bottled at 35% alcohol.
In Calabria it is drunk ice cold in small glasses, and that is the way to start: the cold tames the sweetness and lets the orange zest, piney juniper and clove come through. Its citrus side also makes it an easy amaro to mix, a brighter swap wherever a cocktail calls for a darker bottle. Pick it if you like Averna's richness but want something livelier after dinner.
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Nonino
Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
The elegant one. The Nonino distilling family introduced it in 1992, reworking a family recipe from 1933, and today it is made with their own grape distillate aged in Nevers and Limousin oak barriques and small ex-sherry casks.
At 35% alcohol it tastes of orange peel, burnt caramel and tamarind, with only a subtle herbal bitterness, so it rewards slow sipping neat or on the rocks with a slice of orange. It is also the amaro in the Paper Plane, Sam Ross's modern classic, and the bottle that makes the best case that amaro can be refined rather than rugged.
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Braulio (liqueur)
Mountain air in a bottle. Chemist Francesco Peloni created Braulio in 1875 in Bormio, high in the Italian Alps, and it is all pine, spearmint and chamomile, with a rooty bitterness underneath.
At just 21% alcohol it is easy to sip neat and lightly chilled after a heavy meal, and it makes a bracing highball with soda and a lemon peel. It tastes like nothing else on this list, which is exactly why it earns a spot: if you like mint chocolate or the smell of a pine forest, start here.
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Nardini (grappa)
Amaro Nardini
From one of Italy's oldest distilleries, founded by Bortolo Nardini in 1779 and better known for grappa. The amaro is darker and more bitter than Montenegro, with dark chocolate, licorice and bitter orange, then a cooling peppermint finish, at 31% alcohol.
Drink it neat or over ice after a big meal, or pour two small glasses as a bartender's handshake with a friend. Choose it when Averna feels too sweet and fernet feels like too much.
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Jägermeister
Worth a second look beyond the party shot. Curt Mast created Jägermeister in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, in 1934 from 56 botanicals, among them herbs, roots, fruits and spices, and it matures in oak barrels for up to a year before it is bottled at 35% alcohol.
Served ice cold from the freezer, a small glass after dinner shows it as the herbal digestif it is, with anise, citrus peel and a bittersweet finish. It also makes a good long drink topped with ginger beer over ice, the Jägermeister Mule. If you only know it from Jägerbombs, this is the bottle on the list most likely to surprise you.
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Fernet-Branca
The boldest bottle here, so save it for last. Bernardino Branca created Fernet-Branca in Milan in 1845 from 27 herbs, roots and spices, and it is still made there. Expect menthol, eucalyptus and a deep, dry bitterness at close to 40% alcohol.
Sip a small, chilled glass at the end of the night, or mix it with cola, the way it is most often drunk in Argentina. For a bartender's favorite, try the 50/50 shot created by Brooklyn bartender Damon Boelte: equal parts Fernet-Branca and its minty sibling, Branca Menta. Once fernet clicks, you will find yourself reaching for it more than you expect.
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