Amaro, Amer or Bitters are the seasonings of the bar world; whether potable or non-potable, any cocktail bar worth it’s smoked Himalayan sea salt will have a number of both lined up in the bar. Classic Amari from Europe has become a hot commodity in British Columbia in the last few years; from the dry, religious handshake of Fernet Branca to the sweet and alluring bitterness of Amaro Montenegro. Each has its place in the cocktail kingdom and of course, with the creativeness of local distilleries, it wasn’t going to take long before our own interpretations of Amari started hitting the market.
Amaro is a relatively easy liquor to describe; using a relatively neutral spirit base, you infuse with a variety of herbs and spices. Each amaro from Europe is usually very specific to the region it is from, pairing with the food and their eating and drinking habits. Each brand has its formula of ingredients (usually heavily guarded) and slight variances in production but the end results are bitter forward.
First on the market was the Wood’s Amaro, this was created due to the Campari shortage that befell British Columbia a few years ago, heavy on rhubarb and grapefruit, this amaro is created using a rotovap or vacuum distillation; this ensures the bright flavours in the ingredients are still vivid in the final product. Mia Amata from Odd Society was the next addition to the mix, from the creators of the Bittersweet Vermouth giving it a sibling that shows that master distiller Gordon Glanz isn’t done with recreating old recipes found in dusty books. Thick, viscous with a balanced bite of bitterness and herbal tones; it is remarkably different from the Wood’s Amaro. Lastly, Naramaro will be making an appearance very shortly after printing; the last endeavour from Doug & Dawn of Legend’s Distilling. Naramaro is set to recreate Amer Picon, a very rare, classic orange heavy amaro from France that is the necessary ingredient for the Brooklyn.
These three set the tone for the market to expanded rapidly and changed the amari and bitters selection behind many of British Columbia’s bars. Bitterhouse from Goodridge and Williams brought us their bitter aperitif line of DaMan, LaDame and Rubato, showcasing grapefruit and pomelo, bitter orange and rhubarb respectively. Focusing heavily on the balance bitter and sweet of classic Italian aperitif bitters over the deeper amaro style, Bitterhouse is made for mixing. The drier styles of amari that arrived were deep, complex and with little to no residual sugar; Long Table’s Linnaeus and Arbutus Distillery Amaro, both are great subs for your fernet style amari that give the Toronto its kick. The Linnaeus is developed in with Cole Benoit of Apothecary Bitters and Long Table, very dry, complex woodiness that lingers long after you finished. The Arbutus Amaro takes it up a notch (as Michael, the distiller loves to do), ageing their locally sourced botanical amaro in used bourbon barrels for a full year. This mellows all the earthy botanicals and gives the final product a unique and distinct Arbutus flavour profile.
The scene in British Columbia is expanding so rapidly, continuing to push the boundaries beyond the vodka and gins that defined it during its infancy. Get bitter for all the right reasons.