15 Amaro Cocktails to Try

First up in our amaro cocktails: The Black Manhattan! This classy drink swaps out sweet vermouth for an Italian amaro. It’s strong and boozy, like any good Manhattan, but with caramel and chocolate notes on the finish. The one’s one of a kind, especially for the astute home bartender who’s delighted by the excuse to purchase a specialty liqueur. 

Amaro in this cocktail: Amaro Averna is an Italian amaro made in Sicily, Italy since 1868. It’s dark brown and the flavor is spicy, and herbal, with caramel and honey notes.

Looking for a refreshing, bubbly amaro cocktail that’s light and carefree? Meet the Amaro Spritz! The classic spritz works with any Italian bitter: just follow the classic spritz ratio of 3-2-1. With a favorite amaro (Meletti), it’s glowing golden brown and tastes almost like cola, with caramely notes.

Amaro in this cocktail: Amaro Meletti is a dark brown, sweet amaro. It’s rich and caramel-y, complex and balanced, with flavors from saffron to anise. Or make it into a Cynar Spritz with another tasty amaro, Cynar!

If you’re an avid amaro cocktail drinker, here’s a must-make drink: the Paper Plane! A brilliant study in balance and contrast, it's bitter, sweet and tangy all at once, and hits a magical synergy between the bourbon and amaro. You might think it was a classic cocktail, but did 1920’s bartenders mix Kentucky bourbon with Italian bitters? No, this one’s a true modern classic…and one of the best cocktails you'll have.

Amaro in this cocktail: Nonino Quintessentia Amaro has hints of caramel, vanilla, allspice, and bitter orange. This is the type of amaro originally used for the the Paper Plane, but you can also use Meletti.

Here's another unique amaro cocktail spin on the Manhattan: the Brooklyn cocktail! The Brooklyn is similarly spirit forward, with a few special twists to add nuance. Maraschino liqueur and dry vermouth add intrigue and round out the flavor in this sophisticated drink. This one is perfect for impressing friends at a dinner party or cocktail hour.

Amaro in this cocktail: Amaro Tosolini is a rich medium brown amaro that's sweet and herbal, with a spicy citrusy finish.

This intriguing spin on the classic features Cynar, an Italian amaro with hints of caramel, toffee and an herbal bitter finish. It makes a bitter, mellow Negroni that’s even more interesting to drink, in our opinion! 

Amaro in this cocktail: Cynar is an amaro made with 13 herbs and spices including artichoke leaves. It tastes bittersweet, with notes of caramel, toffee and cinnamon.

Love a good Manhattan? Here’s a sophisticated variation using a trendy new amaro. Try the Bitter Giuseppe, essentially a Cynar Manhattan! This modern classic features Cynar, a popular Italian liqueur with a bittersweet flavor. Using it in a Manhattan makes for an intriguing spin on the classic, with notes of bitter herbs, caramel, and toffee. 

Amaro in this cocktail: Cynar

Here’s a fancy amaro cocktail to impress all your friends: the Fernet Sour! This is one of the most uniquely delicious cocktails we’ve ever had. It’s also known as the Industry Sour, starring bitter and herbal Fernet-Branca, funky green Chartreuse, and lime juice. There’s so much nuance in flavor going on, you can barely describe it: sweet, sour, bitter and refreshing all at once. 

Amaro in this cocktail: Fernet Branca, an intensely bitter and herbaceous liqueur. It has a higher alcohol content than most amaros: 40 to 45% alcohol. (Say it “Fair-net brahn-ka”.)

Here's a boozy amaro cocktail with Fernet-Branca: try the Toronto! If you love whiskey drinks, this is the cocktail for you. A spin on the Old Fashioned, the Toronto features whiskey and Fernet-Branca. It's sophisticated, complex, and rich, balancing the earthiness of the rye whiskey with the subtle bitterness of the Fernet-Branca. 

Amaro in this cocktail: Fernet-Branca

Here's another classic Fernet Branca cocktail: the Hanky Panky! It's like a gin martini, balanced between sweet, bitter and herbal flavors. The Hanky Panky was invented by a famous woman bartender in the 1920’s named Ada Coleman, known as “Coley.”

Amaro in this cocktail: Fernet-Branca

Here's most popular amaro cocktail of them all: the Negroni! Campari is technically an Italian amaro. This classic cocktail dates back to the 1920's and is equal parts refreshing, bitter, and complex. The bright red of the Campari makes for a stunning jewel-tone statement of a drink. It's easy to make and memorize because it uses 1 ounce of each of its three components.

Amaro in this cocktail: Campari is the most popular Italian amaro, at the bitter end of the spectrum. It's bright red in color and tastes spicy, citrusy and intensely bitter.

Here’s a modern amaro cocktail: the Jungle Bird! It’s one of the few rum cocktails to pair tropical flavors with an Italian amaro, Campari. Campari perfectly balances the drink and gives the finish an intriguing complexity. In fact, it’s become a favorite around here…and that’s saying something, given our extensive library of cocktails. It hits all the right notes: sweet, tart, fruity, and bitter.

Amaro in this cocktail: Campari

The Boulevardier is a classic cocktail invented in the 1920’s, a variation on the Negroni that swaps gin for whiskey. It’s thought to have been invented at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris and named after an American writer (Erskine Gwynne) who founded a monthly magazine in Paris called the Boulevardier. 

Amaro in this cocktail: Campari

The Americano cocktail is a classic Italian cocktail, starring equal parts Campari and vermouth with soda water. It dates back to the 1860’s, invented in a bar called Caffe Campari in Milan, Italy. The concept of this classic works with other types of amari, so feel free to play around and make this drink your own.

Amaro in this cocktail: Campari

Bubbly, citrusy, herbal, subtly bitter and lightly sweet…it’s the most classic bubbly mixed drink of them all. Meet the Aperol spritz! This drink is renowned the world over, reaching max popularity in the 2000’s. But did you know it’s actually a classic cocktail from the 1950’s? This Italian cocktail has been capturing hearts and minds for years. Taste one made the right way: it’s absolutely worth the hype.

Amaro in this cocktail: Aperol, another popular Italian amaro at the sweet end of the spectrum. It's bright orange and lightly sweet, bitter, and balanced, with a finish of herbs and orange.

Finally in our amaro cocktails, an Aperol cocktail that's modern and fresh: Naked and Famous! It's as impressive as its name…from first sip! It’s got only four ingredients but beautifully balanced, the perfect harmony of smoky, citrus, bitter and sweet. This modern cocktail was created in 2011, but it’s got nods to the past alluding to a historic cocktail that we know and love. This one is a true standout.

Amaro in this cocktail: Aperol