Luxardo Amaro Abano

Luxardo Amaro Abano is a 30% ABV (60 proof), 750mL medium-bitter amaro from Girolamo Luxardo S.p.A. of Torreglia, Italy — created in 1952 and named for Abano Terme, the Roman spa town in the Euganean Hills whose waters have drawn visitors for 500 years and whose spa, as it looked around 1600, appears on the label. It won Double Gold and Best Liqueur in Show at the 2012 New York World Wine & Spirits Competition and 91 points from Wine Enthusiast. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.

Amaro Abano is the rebuilt Luxardo's Veneto digestivo: herbs that grow wild in the Euganean Hills around the Torreglia distillery, infused with cardamom, cinnamon and bitter orange peel. Where a Fernet clubs you with bitterness, Luxardo deliberately chose the middle road — Amaro Abano is officially a medium bitter, spice- and citrus-led, and especially popular in the Veneto after a meal.

Tasting profile: herbaceous-botanical aromas of orange peel, cardamom and baking spices — cinnamon and nutmeg — deepening into herbal-earthy roots and tubers; a palate where orange peel and cardamom tango through the midpalate into a long, moderately bitter aftertaste. Browse the Luxardo brand collection, more liqueurs and amaro, and the full spirits collection at Del Mesa Liquor.

Serving note: a true digestivo — drunk straight after a meal, with or without ice, to help digestion.

How bitter is Amaro Abano? Medium bitter by design — spice- and citrus-led rather than Fernet-intense.

What is in it? Wild Euganean Hills herbs infused with cardamom, cinnamon and bitter orange peel; Luxardo does not publish a full count.

When was it created? 1952, named for the Abano Terme spa town near the distillery.

What is the ABV? 30% ABV (60 proof), 750mL — do not confuse with Amaro Abano Dry at 35%.