Italy’s follow of bookending a meal with digestivo has but to catch on stateside with the identical fervor as our love for all issues aperitivo. However, as Punch contributor and amaro knowledgeable Brad Thomas Parsons notes in our important information to the ritual, the rise of the post-dinner drink on American menus is a transfer in the appropriate course.
The bitter serves aren’t simply useful drinks; they’re additionally excellent for the vacation season. After an extended, in all probability dense and decidedly wealthy meal, why not flip to one thing that acts as each a palate cleanser and a approach to prolong the night? Whereas a easy, neat pour of amaro works nicely for the event, dressing it up as an after-dinner drink is rarely a nasty concept both.
One of many best methods to zhuzh up an amaro is to easily shake it with ice. Utilizing a reverse dry-shake methodology can crown the liqueur in froth and amplify its aroma and taste. Simply as simple, the amaro caldo method likewise transforms amaro right into a cocktail unto itself just by including water. Alpine kinds of amaro work finest for each of those strategies.
Or, take the equally warming caffè corretto, which requires spiking espresso with amaro or any variety of spirits—digestivo, in spite of everything, has no onerous and quick guidelines. The Livorno Punch, which inserts proper into the canon of espresso cocktails, turns to rum and provides sugar and a lemon twist for a bittersweet, brighter take.
Whereas digestivo historically offers in neat pours and equal-parts mixtures (just like the Ferrari), in case you do go for a extra measured cocktail, flip to bitter and bracing variations of the classics. The Fernet-based Bitter Handshake, for instance, reads like an Outdated-Usual with the addition of diminished blood orange juice and a easy rye whiskey syrup, whereas the Little Italy, with its half-ounce of Cynar, makes for a bitter-leaning Manhattan. Certainly, these amaro-tinged takes really feel completely suited to the post-dinner process. As Chicago bartender Toby Maloney says of his classic-with-a-twist, Eeyore’s Requiem, they’re “a superb foil to the candy, bumbling, fruity drinks with little or no mind” and to the richer, heavier meals typical of a festive meal.
