For many, a nice glass of amaro is the ideal ending to a great Italian meal. For others, the herbal liqueur is something of a mystery. Regardless of which camp you fall into, you’re almost guaranteed to learn something at The Art of Amaro. The new series, which kicks off on September 24, will teach guests the basics before helping each participant mix their own customized bottle.
Surprisingly, that’s not as complicated as it sounds. There’s no need to forage a batch of obscure Italian herbs and spend weeks infusing them into a base spirit. The team at Amari Italian Kitchen and Wine Shop, located in the UnCommons development near I-215 and Durango Drive, has you covered.
“It’s opening up that creative muscle for people to take home something new,” Amari bar manager Tony DeMaria told Food & Loathing. “Make it for friends, make it for family, drink it yourself. It doesn’t matter.”
The Many Flavors Of Amaro
Amaro, which means “bitter” in Italian, is a broad category of liqueurs traditionally made by infusing a spirit with various combinations of herbs, roots, flowers, citrus and other botanicals. Recipes vary dramatically and are often closely guarded secrets. (You can learn more about amaro in this article.)
At The Art of Amaro, the house steeps the herbs while you create the recipe.
DeMaria and his team have done the time-consuming part in advance, creating a variety of individual infusions. Guests will taste those components and mix and match them to create their own personal amaro.
“We saved everybody a step,” DeMaria explained. “Everything is a standalone amaro, essentially.”
The available flavors will range from what DeMaria describes as the “bitter as hell ones” to floral and citrus components, including rose, lemon, lime and grapefruit. The idea is to experiment with different combinations until you find something you like, then bottle the finished product.
A Restaurant With An Identity
For Amari general manager Luis Gonzalez, the event is about more than sending people home with booze.
Amaro has been a major part of the restaurant’s identity since it opened. And Gonzalez says the classes are intended to make a category of digestifs that can sometimes seem intimidating a lot more approachable for customers.
“We want people to experience it for themselves, get it for themselves, have it click,” Gonzalez said. “We want to be that catalyst.”
Guest Producers
The classes will be led by Gonzalez and DeMaria, with representatives from a different amaro producer or distributor joining them each month to discuss the category, its history and individual brands.
The first event will feature Amaro Nonino and Angostura di Amaro. DeMaria describes the concept as part education, part “amaro and apothecary,” and part interactive drinking experience.
“If people can do it with wine and painting,” he asks, “why can’t we do the same thing with hard liquor?”
Ticket Info
The Make Your Own Amaro experience takes place Thursday, Sept. 24, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Amari Italian Kitchen & Wine Shop. Tickets are $74 per person and include a welcome cocktail, small bites and a bottle of your custom amaro to take home. You can purchase them through Seven Rooms.
The restaurant plans to repeat the event on the last Thursday of each month. So if you don’t succeed at first, drink & mix again.
