🥃 Amaro
Amaro is an Italian bittersweet drink made from herbs, roots, bark and citrus peel. It has no legal definition, and strength runs from about 16 to over 40% ABV.
If you know amaro from a bar menu, Aperol or a bottle of Averna, the word is Italian for "bitter", and it covers a whole family of bittersweet drinks made from herbs, roots, bark and citrus peel, steeped in spirit or wine and sweetened. There is no legal definition of amaro: strength ranges from about 16 to over 40% ABV, and the taste runs from soft orange to sharp fernet.
History. Bitter herbal infusions were made in Italian monasteries and pharmacies as digestive remedies, and in the 19th century family firms began to sell them. According to Distiller, Ramazzotti appeared in Milan in 1815, Fernet-Branca in 1845, Averna in Sicily in 1868, Amaro Montenegro in 1885 and Amaro Lucano in 1894. Many amari are still sold only in their home region.
How they are made. The botanicals are macerated or distilled in neutral spirit, sometimes in brandy. Common ingredients include gentian root, cinchona bark, rhubarb, artichoke, cardamom and orange peel. Sugar syrup is then added, and some amari are aged in barrels. Producers usually keep full recipes secret.
Styles and rules. Styles include very bitter fernet (usually 30–45% ABV), rabarbaro made with rhubarb, and carciofo made with artichoke. In the EU the word "amaro" is not protected: depending on its composition, the drink is sold as a bitter (category 30, from 15% ABV) or as a liqueur (category 33, from 15% ABV and usually at least 100 g/l of sugar).
Why this matters to you. The word "amaro" says nothing about strength: Cynar is 16.5% ABV, while a fernet can reach 45%, so check the label. Amari were once sold as tonics, but bitterness does not make a drink medicine. The WHO reminds us that no level of alcohol consumption is safe.
Facts
| Legal basis | no separate definition; in the EU, the rules of category 30 or 33 apply (Reg. (EU) 2019/787) |
|---|---|
| EU category | 30 — bitter spirit drink (bitter) or 33 — liqueur |
| Raw material | herbs, roots, bark (gentian, cinchona bark), rhubarb, artichoke, citrus peel; spirit, brandy or wine; sugar |
| Alcohol (% vol.) | from about 16 to over 40% ABV (Cynar 16.5%, Averna 29%, fernet 30–45%) |
How it connects to Spirits
🥃 Amaro → kind of → 🌿 Bitters and bitter spirits → kind of → 🥃 Spirits
Links
- Next step
- 🍷 Maceration
- Previous step
- 🥃 Cinchona tree, 🥃 Infusion
- Packed in
- 🍷 Oak barrel
- Made from
- 🍷 Ethanol
- What it contains
- 🍬 Sugar
- What it affects
- 🍷 Alcohol and health, 🍷 Drunk driving
- Images and sayings
- 🥃 Digestif
- Traditions
- 🧑🤝🧑 Italians
- Part of
- 🌿 Bitters and bitter spirits, 🍸 Liqueurs
- Related to
- 🌍 Southern Europe
- Similar and different
- 🍸 Bitter (bitter-tasting spirit drink), 🥃 Amaro Lucano, 🥃 Averna, 🥃 Campari, 🥃 Aperol, 🥃 Jägermeister, 🥃 Cocktail bitters, 🥃 Génépi, 🥃 Hrvatski pelinkovac, 🥃 Magenbitter
- In other topics
- 🍷 Vermouth
Frequently asked questions
What does the word amaro mean?
Amaro is the Italian word for "bitter"; the plural is amari. It names a whole family of bittersweet herbal drinks made from herbs, roots, bark and citrus peel.
What is the ABV of amaro?
From about 16 to over 40% ABV: Cynar is 16.5%, Averna 29%, and fernets run up to 45%. There is no legal definition, so check the label.
Is fernet a type of amaro?
Yes. Fernet is a style of amaro, not just a brand: very bitter, usually 30–45% ABV, and it has no separate legal definition either.
How is amaro different from Campari or Aperol?
Campari and Aperol are bitter aperitifs drunk before meals, often with soda; dark amari are more often served after meals. Legally, all of them are EU bitters or liqueurs.
Does amaro help digestion?
Amari were historically sold as tonics and are served after meals as digestifs, but this is a tradition rather than proven benefit: alcohol is not a medicine.
What to read next
- 🍷 Alcohol and health — Alcohol in any drink is harmful in large amounts, and the risks grow with the quantity.
- 🍷 Ethanol — The alcohol formed during fermentation that makes you drunk.
- 🍷 Oak barrel — A wooden vessel made of oak staves in which wine matures, picks up new aromas and slowly takes in air.
- 🌍 Southern Europe — The Mediterranean south of Europe — Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal: sheep's and goat's milk cheeses and most of the world's olive oil.
- 🧑🤝🧑 Italians — The people of Italy; their cuisine rests on wine, olive oil and cheese, and in 2025 the country made 44.4 million hectolitres of wine, the most in the world.
Similar
🍸 Bitter (bitter-tasting spirit drink) · 🥃 Magenbitter · 🥃 Rabarbaro (Italian rhubarb amaro) · 🥃 Cocktail bitters · 🥃 Centerbe · 🥃 Limoncello
⚠️ Spirit drinks contain alcohol and are for adults only. Alcohol harms health. Do not drink during pregnancy or before driving; check the label for ingredients and possible allergens.
What it includes
Sources
- Difford's Guide: Amaro (category description on the Amaro Meletti page — 'Italian word for bitter', bittersweet liqueurs traditionally from Italy, ~16 % to over 40 % alc./vol.)
- Distiller: Italian Amaro — Learn the Basics (no official definition; styles rabarbaro, carciofo, fernet; Ramazzotti 1815, Fernet-Branca 1845, Averna 1868, Montenegro 1885, Lucano 1894; Cynar 16.5 %)
- Regulation (EU) 2019/787 on spirit drinks (OJ L 130, 17.5.2019), Annex I: cat. 30 bitter-tasting spirit drink, 31 flavoured vodka, 33 liqueur (category numbering checked on legislation.gov.uk/eur/2019/787/annex/I)
- WHO/Europe: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (04.01.2023)