Ingredients
The standard Vecchio Amaro del Capo infusion of some twenty-nine Calabrian herbs, flowers, roots and citrus, given a second infusion with hot Calabrian chilli peppers.
- ✦Calabrian peperoncino
- ✦Bitter orange peel
- ✦Mandarin peel
- ✦Liquorice
- ✦Chamomile
- ✦Juniper
- ✦Fennel
- ✦Mint
- ✦Aniseed
History of the Brand
Distilleria Caffo has made Vecchio Amaro del Capo in Limbadi since 1915, and the bottle became a fixture of the Calabrian freezer.
Calabria's other export is peperoncino, and the chilli edition, launched in 2017, simply put the two together.
It caught on quickly, first as a novelty and then as a genuine staple of southern bars, where it is poured at −20°C in the same frosted glasses as the original.
The heat is deliberately mild: the chilli arrives as warmth in the throat rather than as fire on the tongue.
Tasting Characteristics
Mint, liquorice and mandarin, with a faint dried-chilli note behind.
Familiar Capo sweetness — anise, citrus and menthol — followed by a slow build of pepper heat.
Cool then warm, mint and capsicum together.
Flavor meter
How to serve it
- 01Straight from the freezer in a frosted shot glass, the Calabrian way.
- 02Over ice with a mandarin slice.
- 03In a spicy amaro highball with soda and lime.
- 04As a chilli-warm float on a dark rum cocktail.
Where to Get It
Broadly distributed wherever standard Amaro del Capo is sold.
Italian grocers
Usually shelved beside the regular red-label bottle.
Online spirits retailers
Widely stocked in the EU, UK and US.
In Calabria
Poured ice-cold in nearly every bar in the region.
Where to buy Vecchio Amaro del Capo Red Hot Chili Edition
We may earn a commission when you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure.
Vecchio Amaro del Capo Red Hot Chili Edition FAQ
How spicy is the Red Hot Chili Edition?
+
Mild to moderate — the Calabrian peperoncino gives a warming glow in the throat rather than sharp heat.
How should it be served?
+
Straight from the freezer at around −20°C, exactly like the standard Amaro del Capo.
Is the base recipe the same?
+
Yes. It is the standard Capo herb infusion with an added chilli infusion.