Items16The creator’s order
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AperolThe 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…0 - 2
CampariThe 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…0 - 3
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…0 - 4
CynarYes, 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…0 - 5
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…0 - 6
Amaro MontenegroThe 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…0 - 7
Amaro MelettiA 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…0 - 8
Amaro AvernaThe 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…0 - 9
Amaro LucanoClose 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…0 - 10
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…0