Amaro Tasting (November 26, 2021)
This was our 1st Amaro Tasting. We decided to do Amaro, since Jerry suggested it. We had just done Grappa, so Amaro seemed like a natural extension, both being of Italian origins, it made sense. Amaro is an Italian digestive. The ones we chose have a alcohol content of between 23% and 35%, definitely below our usual norm. The bottles in question were;
| TT Label | Description | Country | Proof | Rating | Price (CAD$) |
| B | Nonino Quintessentia | Italy | 70 | 5.2 | $47.00 |
| C | Poli Vaca Mora | Italy | 64 | 3.8 | $39.00 |
| E | Stambecco | Italy | 70 | 7.0 | $35.00 |
| G | Averna Siciliano | Italy | 58 | 7.3 | $25.00 |
| A | Montenegro | Italy | 46 | 7.0 | $27.00 |
| F | Caffo Vecchio Del Capo | Italy | 70 | 5.6 | $30.00 |
| D | Amaro de Erbe S.S. 24 | Italy | 50 | 8.7 | $37.50 |
| H | Amerable (Maple flavour) | Canada | 60 | 7.8 | $35.00 |
We had 9 voting participants in Zoom, but I made another 7 tasting sets, for those who decided not to participate in the Zoom. I’m starting to get a bit of a complex, we’re practically half/half for those taking part in the Zoom, and those not.
Amaro has been around since the 1800’s. They mention it’s often flavoured with flowers, herbs, roots, and spices, it’s bitter-sweet in flavour, sometimes syrupy. Amaro is very varied, similar to the Gins (imho), we had some maraschino cherry flavoured Amaro, we had maple flavoured, we had two heavy mint flavoured (but not identified as such), we had one flavoured very much like ‘thrills gum’, the soapy gum you had as a kid.
We, as a group, don’t seem to like mint. The two that had mint flavour, whether over-powering (Poli), or more subtle (Caffo), neither received good ratings from the group.
As a group we do seem to like Amaro, since the winner received 8s and 9s, unlike Grappa, or Mezcal. Amaro is relatively inexpensive, most around $30-$35, some even cheaper. It is a liqueur though, so under 40% as a general rule.
The winner was relatively classic Amaro, it didn’t go for any over powering flavour, it was well balanced, They could work on their naming of the product though, it’s not a memorable name.
The Winners!
1st Place (8.7, $38)
2nd Place (7.8, $35)
3rd Place (7.3, $25)
The next tasting is Canadian Whisky, it will be in January 2022
The Survey Results
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
| Wayne | 7 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Mike K | 7 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 |
| Kelly J | 6 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Tim O | 6 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Dane | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Renee | 8 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Neil | 6 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| Stacie | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| Mitch | 7 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Total | 63 | 47 | 34 | 78 | 63 | 50 | 66 | 70 |
| 7.0 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 8.7 | 7.0 | 5.6 | 7.3 | 7.8 |
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