Crafting Complex Cocktails with Amaro Montenegro and Select Aperitivo
​April 22, 2024

Making cocktails is an art, and while everyone has their go-to drink, trying something new can really elevate the experience.  I had the chance to sample two Italian liqueurs, Amaro Montenegro and Select Aperitivo, courtesy of Montenegro Gruppo, and went about crafting the four recommended cocktails, with fascinating results.  It was easy to accomplish a professional bartender style of drink at home, and wow, so intriguing!  Now for the skinny on both and recipes for you to try at home.

Amaro Montenegro is an award-winning bitter, considered Italy’s top amaro, made of 40 botanicals from all over the world, such as herbs, spices, flowers, citrus, roots, stems and more.  Created in 1885 by Stanislao Cobianchi in Bologna, this amaro is the result of painstaking experimentation, weaving together these exotic ingredients while tinkering with distillation to produce a magical elixir.  The art of alchemy didn’t end with the amaro, Cobianchi designed the bottle to resemble a potion.  The liquor was named after the admired Princess Elena of Montenegro, who married the future king of Italy, Prince Vittorio Emanuele III.

The recipe is a highly guarded secret, but the process is well known.  The herbalist first boils the botanicals, then macerates them, and distills the resulting liquid.  Twelve “mother essences” are synthesized into six aromatic notes, encompassing bitter and herbaceous, spicy and floral, sweet and roasted, fresh and balsamic, fruity and vegetal, and warm and tropical.  These are blended with alcohol, water and sugar.  The final step, adding the magic that gives Amaro Montenegro its unmistakable character, one drop of the secret ingredient Premio.  Considered integral to the recipe, Premio is made by a microdistillation of five botanicals, which are only known to a handful of people.

Mysterious and fascinating, Amaro Montenegro adds an indescribable essence to classic cocktails, transforming them into something unique and expressive.  And while it is perfect as an after-dinner digestif, straight or on the rocks, it shines in craft cocktails, whether a twist on the classics or inventing new drinks.  Their website shows how to reinvent those classics, whether it’s a Montenegroni, Monte Mule, Monte Manhattan, to name just a few of the recipes listed.  I fell in love with the M+M, equal parts of Amaro Montenegro and Mezcal, stirred and strained over ice, garnished with an Orange Peel, fragrant and smoky, so intriguing!  The Pamona Royale was extremely balanced and refreshing, the amaro adding a layer of intrigue, as citrus wrapped around its herbal core.  Topped with champagne and garnished with a lime wheel and pinch of salt, there was so much going on!

While being a fan of amaro, both straight and in mixed drinks, I was a newbie to the Select Aperitivo, a Venetian aperitivo liqueur similar in style and color to Aperol, but different.  Both are lower alcohol with comparable base flavors, but Select has more going on, so vibrant and flavorful, and a bit less sweet.  It is used as an aperitif in a refreshing Spritz, and also as a bitter for cocktails.  Created in Venice in 1920, the original Venetian Spritz is 3 parts Prosecco, 2 parts Select Aperitivo, and 1 splash of Soda, served over ice in a wine glass, and garnished with a Green Olive.

Venetian Spritz, Courtesy of Select Aperitivo

Hailed as “Born To Spritz”, Select Aperitivo’s stunning red color with orange highlights, effervescence tickle to your nose, complex aromas of balsamic, eucalyptus and menthol encircled by fragrant citrus, and bittersweet taste with citrus, spicy and tropical notes, is the result of a blend of 30 botanicals.  This blend is enhanced by macerated rhubarb roots and juniper berries, adding five characteristics to the liqueur, a floral, grass, citrusy, balsamic and spicy essence, making it at once sweet, bitter and delicious.  Fresh yet resinous, the liqueur has structure and a persistent character that lingers.

I fell in love with the Select Americano cocktail, made with equal parts of Select Aperitivo and Sweet Vermouth, and added Soda Water to fill, garnished with an Orange Slice and Green Olive.  And the Mimosa Venezie is a refined and sophisticated spin on the original, slightly sweet with a tang, overall more refreshing to me.

In Italy, an aperitivo is enjoyed after work and before dinner, a drink and light meal that “opens” the appetite and sets the stage for all the flavors to come in a meal.  Both the Amaro Montenegro and Select Aperitivo accomplished that, offering an indescribable magical quality that will cast a spell.  You’ll be enchanted by both, I find myself dreamily craving the next opportunity to enjoy one or both.

Here are the recipes for the cocktails in this article: 

• The M+M
  • 1 part Amaro Montenegro
  • 1 part mezcal 
  • Stir and strain ingredients over ice and garnish with an orange peel
• Pamona Royale
  • 2 parts Amaro Montenegro
  • 1 part grapefruit cordial
  • 1 part lime juice
  • ½ part agave nectar
  • Pour ingredients onto ice and stir briefly
  • Top with champagne and garnish with a lime wheel and a pinch of salt
• The Americano
  • 1.5 oz Select Aperitivo
  • 1.5 oz sweet vermouth
  • 4 oz club soda
  • Pour over ice and garnish with a green olive and an orange slice
• Mimosa Venezia
  • 4 oz chilled champagne
  • 2 oz orange juice
  • 1 oz Select Aperitivo
  • Pour champagne into glass.  Add orange juice.  Slowly pour Select Aperitivo to layer.  Garnish with Orange Ribbon​

​For more ideas, go to Amaro Montenegro, https://www.amaromontenegro.com/en/ and Select Aperitivo, https://selectaperitivo.com/