Amaro

This twist on the whiskey sour adds blueberries—plus a touch of amaro and funky rum.

Bartender Kyle Davidson created this bitter and fresh Cynar cocktail in 2008 at The Violet Hour.

This equal parts mezcal drink is beloved by everyone who tastes it.

The Jasmine is one of the earliest entries in the modern classic cocktail canon, coming just a couple of years after the creation of the cosmopolitan.

The Jungle Bird is one of the few tiki drinks to feature amaro—in this case, Campari.

Bold cranberry mingles with bittersweet Cynar in this bitter and bubbly variation on the spritz cocktail.

Delicately apricotty, this easy spritz can be made with or without Aperol. 

Enjoy this coffee cocktail as a pick-me-up, a low-alcohol refresher, or on either end of a big meal.

The classic Aperol spritz recipe on the back of the Aperol bottle calls for three parts Prosecco (or other sparkling wine), two parts Aperol, and a splash of soda. The concoction is fizzy and vibrantly orange in flavor, softly sweet and just a tiny bit bitter—perfect for sipping before dinner as an aperitivo. Earlier versions of the spritz used Select, which some tasters find more complex, or Campari, which is quite a bit more bitter and bracing. But you can spritz with whatever bittersweet liqu.…

The classic negroni is an anytime cocktail. With equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, the Italian aperitivo is bittersweet, herbal, and a cinch to mix.

The Trident cocktail is a riff on a negroni that uses Spain’s sherry, Italy’s Cynar, and Scandinavia’s aquavit.

The Americano cocktail is a classic Italian drink that dates back to Milan’s Caffè Camparino in the 1860s, where it was known as the Milano-Torino.

Scorpion bowls are heavily boozed, sugared, and communally shared. These updated Apéritif Scorpion Bowls keep the fun and ditch the sting.

Where a margarita is usually sweetened with orange liqueur, the Rosalita uses bittersweet amaro. This version is chilled in your freezer before it heads to the blender with a big scoop of ice.

Put together spicy rye, smoky mezcal, and coffee-accented amaro, and it’s easy to understand why Joe Briglio, of Chicago’s Billy Sunday, describes this cocktail as “my interpretation of the flavors of the early American West and possibly a cowboy’s campfire.” The drink name is inspired by a Tom Waits song called “Goin’ Out West,” he adds.

This simple two-ingredient cocktail is the ideal brunch or before-dinner drink. Campari gives it a delicate bitterness, while fresh orange juice creates a beautiful froth.

This cocktail is a refreshing, slightly bitter spin on the Pimm’s Cup, thanks to the addition of Cynar, a vegetal Italian liqueur.