Roman Holiday

Rome is one of my favorite cities. As capital of the first empire in Western Europe, and then of the Catholic church, it has been at the heart of history for more than 2,000 years. And the physical presence of that history is alive in the modern city. You stroll through the winding streets, turn a corner, and, bam! You’re standing in front of the Pantheon, an architecturally perfect wonder from the reign of Hadrian. Or the Colosseum, the original site of sports as public spectacle. Or the Forum, where you can walk the same cobblestones as Caesar, and stand where Marc Antony gave the funeral speech immortalized by Shakespeare. Or the Circus Maximus, predecessor of NASCAR. Or Trajan’s Column. Or the Temple of Hercules. Or the Arch of Titus. Or…

You get the picture.

View across the Tiber River; strolling through the Forum

J and I recently attended a friend’s wedding in Italy (congratulations, G and A!), and spent several days in Rome to kick off the festivities. My last visit predated my cocktail obsession so, in addition to the sights and the food, I was determined to sample as many varieties of amaro as possible. This bitter Italian liqueur is traditionally sipped as an after-dinner digestivo, but why limit myself? I had amaro-and-soda aperitivos for happy hour, drank amaro-based cocktails, and ended each evening with an amaro nightcap. On our last night in Rome, I met another amaro fanatic in Matheus Dela Rune, head bartender at the Barnum Café (check out his blog Urban Mixologist). He served up a flight of small-batch amari to start, followed with his Herbalista cocktail (a mad-scientist concoction of Branca Menta, Chartreuse, and Maraschino – not for the faint of heart), and finished with a mezcal riff on the Negroni. Mission accomplished!

Artisanal amari and craft cocktails at Barnum Café; grazie, Matheus!

I’m continually amazed by the variety of flavors found in different amari. Lemon-yellow Strega (‘witch’ in Italian) is a delicate mix of anise and saffron. Charred rhubarb (much better than it sounds) predominates in Sfumato. Fernet brings a healthy dose of menthol and eucalyptus. The inky Anima Nera is black jellybean licorice in liquid form. Others emphasize citrus, herbs, pine, allspice, gentian. Excellent for sipping, they also provide an intriguing flavor palette for mixed drinks. I managed to bring back four lesser-known amari (that’s all that would fit in my luggage), and I’m excited to use them in my next round of cocktail experiments. I’ll keep you posted. Salute!

h.