Bosca Tosti Cardamaro Vino Amaro
Bosca Tosti Cardamaro Vino Amaro is a wine-based amaro at 17% ABV in a 750mL bottle — cardoon and blessed thistle on estate wine from Canelli, Piemonte, rested at least six months in new oak — available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 17% vol — retailer-consensus; confirm on label (one source says 16.5%)
- Size: 750mL
- Base: vino amaro — estate wine (Moscato-region Canelli), not a spirit base
- Botanicals: cardoon and blessed (St. Benedict's) thistle, plus herbs and spices
- Resting: at least 6 months in new oak
- Producer: Giovanni Bosca (Tosti1820), Canelli, Asti, Piemonte, Italy
The Thistle Amaro
Cardamaro takes the road most amari don't: instead of a neutral-spirit base, it starts from wine in Canelli — the UNESCO-listed cellar country of Piemonte — then layers in cardoon and blessed thistle, two of the bitterest botanicals in the Italian pantry, and rests the blend six months or more in new oak. The result drinks closer to an aged wine with a bitter spine than to a heavy digestivo. Discover more Cardamaro, or shop the cocktail shelf for its best partners.
Tasting Notes
Spicy artemisia, warming herbal layers, dried herbs, citrus peel, and gentle oak on the nose; a sweet, rounded entry with light caramel, earthy herbs, and baking spice; a long, bittersweet finish with lingering spicy herbs and oak spice.
How to Enjoy
Serve neat at cellar temperature or over one large cube — the wine base rewards a gentler chill than spirit-based amari. Also excellent with soda and an orange slice, or swapped into a low-ABV spritz.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "vino amaro"?
An amaro built on wine rather than neutral spirit — Cardamaro starts from estate wine in Canelli and rests on new oak, giving it a wine-like body with a bitter herbal spine.
What are cardoon and blessed thistle?
Cardoon is a thistle-like artichoke relative and blessed thistle a bitter medicinal herb; together they give Cardamaro its signature dry bitterness.
What is the ABV?
17% ABV per retailer consensus; one source lists 16.5%.
Is it sweet?
Moderately — a sweet, rounded entry balances into clear bitterness, finishing bittersweet rather than syrupy.
Piemonte's wine-based bitter: order Bosca Tosti Cardamaro Vino Amaro online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.