All About Spirits and Liquors Presents: Amaretto recipes, overview, origins.

Learn all about Amaretto. 

Amaretto is a semi-sweet almond flavored liqueur, that has fascinating origins in Italy.

The distinctive tastes comes from apricot or almond pits or a combination of both.

Amaretto is a main, or secondary ingredient in many classic cocktail drinks today.

Origins

Amaretto is Italian for "a bit bitter."

Also, their is a romantic connotation to the name, amore and amare which translates as "love" in Italian.

Amaretto has a fascinating story of origin. Sources state that is 1525, a Saronno church commissioned artist Bernardino Luini, which was one of the master renassance artist Leonardo da Vinci's pupils, to paint their sanctuary with frescoes of the Madonna.

The young artist, needed a model for the Virgin Mary, and came across a young widowed innkeeper. The young lady of humble means became his model. Many stories also talk about how she become his lover also.  She wanted to give the young artist a gift, and out of humble means, she steeped apricot kernels with some brandy and presented this simple gift to the young artist.

Popular Amaretto Brands

Disaronno Originale

Disaronno is becoming very popular today. Surprisingly the Disaronno website states that their amaretto contains no almonds, and is nut-free. This interesting fact makes it is safe for people with nut allergies.

Alcohol Content:  (28% abv),

Disaronno claims its "originale" and "secret formula" is unchanged from the year 1525, and claims the Luini tale as its own particular history. Its production remains in Saronno.

The company descries the process as using "apricot kernel oil" with "absolute alcohol, burnt sugar, and the pure essence of seventeen selected herbs and fruits".

The amber liqueur is bottled in a distinctive rectangular glass in a decanter style. The glass bottle was designed by a craftsman from Murano, Italy.

Disaronno

Company Website: LINK

Lazzaroni Amaretto

Lazzaroni Amaretto also has a long and interesting history.

Made by Paolo Lazzaroni & Figli S.p.A., in Italy. The company also parades itself as the first such liqueur.  The Lazzaroni family also claims the tale of the young couple blessed by the bishop as the origin of their generations-guarded family recipe, which dates to 1718. The amaretto has been professionally made since 1851.

The Amaretto is based on an infusion of Amaretti di Saronno or macaroons.

Company Website: LINK

Other Amaretto Makers Include:

Bols  link

Ciemme   link

Casoni    link

Catron    link

Galliano  link

Gozio        link

Dekuyper  link

Dubois    link

Luxardo     link

Hiram Walker   link

How to drink Amaretto

You can drink Neat or all by itself.

You can drink it on the rocks or with ice.

Amaretto can be blended with other beverages and liquors to make all sorts of creative cocktail drinks.

May add it to coffee as a morning drink.
Add atop of deserts such as ice cream.

Amaretto Recipes: 
Cocktail drinks that use or contain amaretto as a main ingredient.

French Connection Recipe
Ingredients

• 1 part Amaretto liqueur
• 1 part Cognac
Mixing Instructions
Mix by pouring both directly into a old fashioned style glass with ice. 

Give a quick stir and serve.


Godfather Recipe

Ingredients
• 1 part Amaretto
• 1 part Scotch
Mixing Instructions

Mix by pouring both directly into a old fashioned style glass with ice. 

Give a quick stir and serve.

Toasted Almond Cocktail Recipe:

Ingredients
• 1 part Amaretto
• 1 part Kahlua liqueur
• 1 part Cream

Mixing Instructions

Mix by pouring both directly into a old fashioned style glass with ice. 

Give a quick stir and serve.

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What is amaretto, all about amaretto.