About Amaro Aficionado
Amaro Aficionado is an independent editorial library devoted to Italian amaro — the bittersweet herbal liqueurs born in monasteries and pharmacies, kept alive by Italian families, and rediscovered by the modern cocktail bar. We exist to make that world legible: which bottle to buy, what it actually tastes like, and what to make with it.
What We Publish
Three things, done thoroughly. The Encyclopedia documents individual amari — origin, botanicals, history, tasting profile, and how to serve them. The Cocktail Lab holds tested recipes with specs, technique, and the story behind each drink. Amaro 101 covers the fundamentals: history, categories, glassware, and how amaro differs from aperitivo and digestivo more broadly.
How We Research
Entries are built from producer materials, distillery and brand histories, Italian regional sources, standard drinks references, and firsthand tasting. Botanical lists for amaro are famously secret — where a recipe is proprietary we say so rather than inventing a bill. When we describe a flavor, that is an opinion; when we state a fact about ABV, origin, or founding date, we source it.
Editorial Independence
No brand pays for placement, ranking, or a favorable tasting note on this site. We use affiliate links and display advertising to fund the work, and those relationships never determine what we cover or what we say about it. Full details are in our Affiliate Disclosure.
Responsible Drinking
This site is written for adults of legal drinking age — 21 and over in the United States. Everything here is intended for informational and entertainment purposes, and we ask that you enjoy the bottles and recipes we cover in moderation. Never drink and drive.
Who Runs the Site
Amaro Aficionado is owned and operated by Alpha Bravo Holdings, LLC. Editorial questions, corrections, partnership inquiries, and press requests are all welcome — reach us through the contact page.
Robert Coss
Robert Coss is a Chicago-based businessman whose work has taken him to more than forty countries — though one keeps pulling him back. Italy got hold of him early, and it never really let go. He is now setting up a second base in Umbria, close enough to the hill towns, the bitter herbs, and the after-dinner ritual that started all of this.
Amaro was the souvenir that traveled best. A bottle poured at the end of a long table in a village trattoria says more about a place than any guidebook, and Robert came home wanting somewhere those bottles could be taken seriously — a common table where the people who drink amaro, the families who make it, and the bartenders and restaurateurs who pour it could all find each other. That is what this site is meant to be.
Away from the work and the travel, he reads widely, gardens with more ambition than the Chicago growing season strictly allows, and believes the best use of a good bottle is a slow evening with friends.