There are three rules to substituting amaro, and once you have them you can improvise your way out of almost any missing bottle.
- Match the style, not the brand. Light for light, fernet for fernet, rabarbaro for rabarbaro. The style families are the map.
- Adjust for sugar. If the substitute is sweeter, cut the recipe's syrup — or the whole drink — by about a quarter.
- Adjust for proof. Going from 16% Cynar to 35% Nonino changes the dilution math. Scale the pour down roughly 20% when you jump a proof bracket.
Substitutions, bottle by bottle
Substitute for Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
Light, silky, apricot and orange peel, grappa base, 35% ABV
Best swap: Amaro Montenegro — Closest match on weight and sweetness. Slightly more floral and a touch sweeter — pull the syrup back by about a quarter in a sour.
- Meletti — sweeter and more caramel; works in a Paper Plane if you cut the liqueur to ¾ oz
- Cardamaro — drier and wine-based; excellent when the drink is spirit-forward
- Averna cut 3:1 with dry vermouth — mimics Nonino's lightness surprisingly well
Avoid: Fernet-Branca or Cynar — both will bulldoze a Nonino drink.
Substitute for Averna
Medium, syrupy, cola, caramel and licorice, 29% ABV
Best swap: Amaro Lucano — Nearly interchangeable — same medium-sweet register, a bit brighter on citrus. Use 1:1 with no adjustment.
- Ramazzotti — more anise and orange, equally at home in a Black Manhattan
- Amaro Meletti — sweeter and softer; drop any added sugar in the recipe
- Cynar plus a bar spoon of demerara — approximates the body and the bittersweet finish
Avoid: Aperol — far too light and low proof to stand in for Averna.
Substitute for Cynar
Savory, vegetal artichoke, low proof at 16.5% ABV
Best swap: Amaro Ramazzotti — Not vegetal, but it hits the same bittersweet midpoint. Because Ramazzotti is 30% ABV, scale down about 20% or the drink gets hot.
- Averna — sweeter; reduce other sweeteners to compensate
- Cardamaro — the closest thing to Cynar's savory, cardoon-adjacent character
- Campari cut 1:1 with sweet vermouth — for Negroni-family drinks specifically
Avoid: Aperol — no bitterness or body to speak of.
Substitute for Amaro Montenegro
Light, orange peel, vanilla and rose, 23% ABV
Best swap: Amaro Nonino Quintessentia — Same easy weight, slightly drier and higher proof. A 1:1 swap is safe in almost any recipe.
- Amaro Meletti — sweeter with saffron and violet; a lovely stand-in
- Amaro Nardini — drier and more mineral, good when the drink is already sweet
- Bénédictine cut with a dash of Angostura — a non-Italian workaround in a pinch
Avoid: Any fernet — Montenegro's whole job is gentleness.
Substitute for Fernet-Branca
Bone dry, menthol, myrrh and saffron, 39% ABV
Best swap: Fernet Vittone — Another Piedmontese fernet — slightly rounder and less aggressively minty. Swap 1:1.
- Fernet Stock — softer and sweeter; nudge the pour up a little
- Branca Menta — the same base with far more mint and sugar; use two-thirds the amount
- Jägermeister plus a dash of peppermint bitters — a rough but usable emergency swap
Avoid: Sweet amari like Averna — you lose the entire point of a fernet.
Substitute for Campari
Bright, aggressively bitter red aperitivo, 24% ABV
Best swap: Contratto Bitter — Naturally colored, comparably bitter, a shade more orange. A 1:1 swap in a Negroni is imperceptible to most drinkers.
- Cappelletti Aperitivo — wine-based and lower proof; use a slightly bigger pour
- Luxardo Bitter — a near clone, marginally sweeter
- Gran Classico — richer and gentian-forward; excellent in a Boulevardier
Avoid: Aperol in a Negroni — the drink collapses into candy.
Substitute for Aperol
Sweet, low-bitterness orange aperitivo, 11% ABV
Best swap: Select Aperitivo — The Venetian original. A touch more bitter and rhubarby, and honestly the better Spritz.
- Cappelletti Aperitivo — drier, wine-based, more herbal
- Campari cut 1:1 with simple syrup — approximates Aperol's sweetness at higher proof
- Amaro Montenegro with a splash of orange juice — different, but pleasant in a Spritz
Avoid: Fernet in a Spritz. Please.
Substitute for Braulio
Alpine — pine, juniper, mountain herbs, 21% ABV
Best swap: Genepy — Sweeter and more floral, but unmistakably alpine. Cut the recipe's sugar slightly.
- Amaro Alpino Bordiga — mountain botanicals, drier profile
- Zirbenz stone pine liqueur cut with a bitter amaro — approximates the resinous top note
- Amaro dell'Erborista — earthier and honeyed, but shares the herbal spine
Avoid: Cola-sweet amari like Averna — no pine, no point.
Substitute for Rabarbaro Zucca
Chinese rhubarb root, smoke, earth and caramel, 16% ABV
Best swap: Sfumato Rabarbaro — The same rhubarb backbone with far more campfire smoke. Use slightly less if you don't want the smoke to dominate.
- Rabarbaro Bordiga — brighter and less smoky
- Cynar with a few drops of mezcal — a workable smoke-and-earth approximation
- Averna with a dash of Angostura — closest on sweetness, not on rhubarb
Avoid: Light citrus amari — you lose the earthiness entirely.
Substitute for Amaro CioCiaro
Bitter orange, medium body, 30% ABV
Best swap: Amer Picon — CioCiaro was created as the American stand-in for Picon in the first place. Interchangeable.
- Ramazzotti — orange-forward and similarly weighted
- Averna with a strip of orange peel expressed over the drink
- Grand Marnier plus a dash of gentian bitters — for orange character without the bitterness
Avoid: Fernet — wrong family, wrong intensity.
Substituting in specific cocktails
- Paper Plane — Nonino out, Montenegro in, 1:1. Meletti works at ¾ oz.
- Black Manhattan — Averna out, Lucano or Ramazzotti in, 1:1.
- Cynar Negroni — Cynar out, Ramazzotti in at ¾ of the volume.
- Naked & Famous — Aperol out, Select or Cappelletti in, 1:1.
- Hanky Panky — Fernet-Branca out, Fernet Vittone or Fernet Stock in, 1:1 (it's only two dashes).
Frequently asked questions
- What is a good substitute for amaro?
- Match the style, not the brand. Swap a light amaro for another light amaro (Montenegro for Nonino), a medium for a medium (Lucano for Averna), a fernet for a fernet (Fernet Vittone for Fernet-Branca). Within a style, most 1:1 swaps work with only a small adjustment to the drink's sweetener.
- Can I substitute Aperol for Campari?
- Not straight across. Aperol is 11% ABV and much sweeter, so a Negroni made with it turns flabby and candied. If Aperol is all you have, cut the sweet vermouth and add a dash of bitters — or better, use Contratto Bitter or Luxardo Bitter as your Campari stand-in.
- What can I use instead of Amaro Nonino in a Paper Plane?
- Amaro Montenegro is the standard substitute and the drink stays excellent. Meletti also works if you cut the pour to about three-quarters, since it is noticeably sweeter than Nonino.
- Is there a non-alcoholic amaro substitute?
- Yes — Lyre's Italian Orange, Ghia and Giffard's alcohol-free aperitif range all reach for the same bitter-citrus register. For a homemade version, steep gentian root and bitter orange peel in strong black tea, sweeten lightly, and use it one-for-one in spritz-style drinks.
- Can I swap one amaro for another in any cocktail?
- In most cases yes, provided you stay within the same style family and account for proof and sugar. Stirred, spirit-forward drinks are the most forgiving; two-ingredient drinks where the amaro is the whole show are the least.
New to all of this? Start with what amaro actually is, then browse the full encyclopedia to find your next bottle.