Bitter Liqueurs, like Amaro, are becoming frequently used cocktail ingredients.
It’s more likely today than ever before to come across amaro on a cocktail menu in a bar near you. Driven by consumer interest in more bitter flavors, starting with the use of bitters like Angostura in the early 2000s for things like Old Fashioneds, consumers are more open to bitter flavors and now are beginning to experiment with amaro and amari as a cocktail ingredient. As bartenders search for new ways to introduce flavor, balance and complexity into cocktails, amaro is more frequently being used. This trend along with consumer travel to Italy, the natural origins and birthplace of amaro, you are seeing greater adoption of amaro for cocktail usage in the United States. Amaro was a niche subcategory of liqueurs, but has emerged as a much larger use case in cocktails. Traditionally known as a digestivo only, that is to be consumed after dinner, and while this is still a traditional consumption use case - we are seeing more and more bartenders and consumers use amaro in cocktails. Good evidence of this is coming from the Spirited Awards, run by Tales of the Cocktail, where menus submitted from top cocktail bars around the country revealed that 17% or nearly 1 out of every 5 cocktails on menus included amaro as an ingredient.
Amaro, such as See the Elephant, is a great amaro to play with in cocktails to use as a substitute for sweet vermouth, or a way to bring balance and structure to a cocktail that needs a finishing touch. Tell us, what cocktails have you used amaro in?
A great example of this is with the “Peel the Burn” cocktail developed by Morgan Coyne at Lost Isle, the acclaimed outdoor, open-fire, restaurant in Charleston South Carolina’s Johns Island. Recognized among The New York Times America's Best Restaurants and Southern Living's Restaurants of the Year, with a bar program and cocktail list developed by Morgan to match the vibe of Lost Isle, See the Elephant Amaro fits right in. Morgan is the beverage director at Lost Isle and was voted the best bartender in Charleston in 2025. She uses See the Elephant to round out the flavor profile in the bourbon, torched banana cocktail that has become a favorite of the restaurant.
