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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/490399
www.cheersonline.com 20 • April 2015 the Negroni and its whisky-based twin, the Boulevardier, they might even be ready to graduate to sipping a single amaro on the rocks. Unadorned amari have been on the mind of Tina Majethis, beverage director of the Kimpton Hotel's restaurant 312 in Chicago. At the classic Italian spot, she's been including amari in cocktails on the frequently changing menu since she came on in 2013. The bar currently stocks about 20. "We generally put them in our cocktails to let guests know you don't have to drink them alone," she says. "When they see it as an ingredient and like the cocktail, they are more likely to sample them on their own." Chaim Dauermann, head bartender of The Up & Up in New York's Greenwich Village, worked with amari frequently at the now-closed 'Inoteca Liquori Bar and marvels at the change. "It's defi nitely interesting to see the growth in amaros in cocktails," he says. "We had a lot, and at the time nobody really knew what they were or what to do with them. We found we didn't move amari unless we put them in a cocktail." MIXING WITH AMARI Simo's current amari drinks include Exile on Main Street (with Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, Cardamaro, El Dorado and Scarlet Ibis rums, Benedictine, Angostura and Peychaud's bitters); Get Up and Go (Wild Turkey 101 Rye, Amaro Abano, Laphroaig Quarter Cask Scotch, Galliano Ristretto, orange and cinnamon bitters); and the double-barrelled amari Indecent Proposal (Rittenhouse rye, Cocchi vermouth Di Torino, Cynar, Nardini Amaro). The cocktails are priced at $14 each. Russell House Tavern in Cambridge, MA, includes at least six amaro-infl uenced drinks on its current cocktail list, says bar manager Ashish Mitra. "We've been putting amaro in a number of our cocktails from the beginning, and we do really well with them." Part of that is Boston's reputation for consuming Fernet Branca, Mitra notes, "and that does translate into putting more amari and bitters into drinks. Our clientele has come to expect it to some degree, because we've always done it." Like Simo, Mitra says that bartenders fi rst incorporate amari as a replacement for aromatic bitters, increasing the amount while building on well- established drink templates. "You get a wide variety and range of different fl avor profi les for bartenders to play around with when it comes time to create cocktails," explains Mitra. Jacksonville, FL-based Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails features drinks using a number of amari, including the Fireside Chat, made with Smooth Ambler bourbon, Ramazzotti, falernum, apple cider, lemon juice and cinnamon syrup. It's one of the bar's top-fi ve drinks, even if the fl avor profi le might be unusual in the South. "Things have changed, I know, because we had a drink on the menu made with a barrel-aged gin and Fernet Branca that people still ask for, even though it's not on our current menu," says bar manager Johnny Schaefer. The amaro-forward drinks at Up & Up include The Rose Among Thorns (with aquavit, gin and Amaro Montenegro) and Strunk Text (Cabeza silver tequila, Amaro dell'Erborista, pink peppercorn, chanterelle mushroom, lime juice, and celery shrub), both priced at $14. In addition to classic Italian brands, The Blue Room restaurant and Belly wine bar in Cambridge, MA, have added amari from Hungary and the Czech Republic; they currently offer 20 different styles. "YOU ADD A WHOLE LOT BY ADDING A LITTLE OF AMARO TO COCKTAILS; THE OVERALL COMPLEXITY OF ITS CONTRIBUTION TO A DRINK MAKES IT CLOSE TO GIN IN THAT REGARD." —Chaim Dauermann, head bartender of The Up & Up, New York The Camproni Spritz at 312 in Chi- cago, with Campari, Barolo Chinato, sweet vermouth and prosecco. THAT'S AMARI! The Up & Up's Strunk Text cocktail, with Cabeza silver tequila, Amaro dell'Erborista, pink peppercorn, chanterelle mushroom, lime juice and celery shrub.