Amaro Montenegro

A bottle of Amaro Montenegro.

Amaro Montenegro is a traditional amaro distilled in Bologna, Italy. It is made using over 40 herbs,^[1] bottled at 23%vol. The amaro was first produced in 1885 by Stanislao Cobianchi, a noble citizen of Bologna predestined towards an ecclesiastical life. Stanislao rejected the yoke of destiny placed on his shoulders and escaped from under the Towers of Bologna to travel the world. While journeying through the Principality of Montenegro he was struck by the extraordinary digestive powers of a local drink known as Karik. Returning in Italy, Stanislao cloistered himself away in a liquoreria of the Piemont where, after learning the secrets of distillation, he was able to reproduce the flavours of the drink once tasted in Montenegro. Returning to Bologna as an accomplished master of his trade, Stanislao opened a small liquor store and subsequently a distillery in order to produce and market his Amaro Montenegro. Popular as an after-dinner drink (digestivo in Italian) it is one of the few brands of Italian bitters to have carved an image for itself through a series of successful commercials (aired on Italian TV networks) which have linked the brand to images of adventurous, outdoor, and generally manly living situations.^[1]

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