Another Italian amaro on the block tonight - this time a much heralded family-owned product called Amaro Nardini. The Nardini distillery is in the general Venice/Padua metropolitan area, in far northeastern Italy, and they have apparently been making this since 1870 or so - in fact, their website makes the claim they are Italy's first distillery (!). Bartolo Nardini was born in 1739 and they mostly made grappa from the leftovers produced during wine production.
Coming in a sleek black-and-orange bottle, at 31% ABV, and at a very reasonable price point, let's immediately sink right in and see what this one is like:
Nose: Chocolate and licorice and raw sugar and bitter herbs all waft out of the glass. Like many amaros, the nose is not particularly revealing, nor astoundingly aromatic. It gives hints, but nothing more.
Mouthfeel: Very very syrupy! Thick as hell.
Palate: This is where Nardini really pays off. Peppermint (tons of it), caramel, cocoa powder, licorice, citrus peel (orange? grapefruit? hard to say), and the expected drying gentian-type root. Quite sweet - there is a bit of sugar in this, for sure. Has none of the vegetal richness of Cynar or others in that vein. Like a sweeter version of Aperol, perhaps. The closest analog I know would be Averna, but it's less bitter than that.
Finish: No real finish to speak of, nor did I really expect one. This isn't whisky - it doesn't really stick in your mouth when it's gone, it just evaporates.
Verdict: This is good but not great. I prefer most of the other recent amaros I've had - the problem is that there is so much sugar here that is masks the various herbs and spices that are likely present - the overall impression is a very sweet licorice/chocoate/gentian liqueur but little else comes through.
After a nice, filling dinner at an Italian restaurant, this would surely hit the spot. But it's not an everyday evening sipper, at all. Interesting - and well produced - but of limited interest due to the overwhelming sugar content.
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