r/Amaro

Found at bar Panacea in Auckland NZ. Apparently Cynar 70 is impossible to get here so they're making their own. They use a rotary evaporator to separate the alcohol out of Cynar 33 and then recombine the parts in a different ratio to make a 100 proof version. They do the same with Montenegro and use both the Cynar syrup and Monte syrup in zero-proof mocktails.

I had the Artichoke Me Daddy (delicious) and then tried both the 100 and the syrup alone. Both were about what you'd expect. The 100 was just a super hot 33 without the unique flavor profile of 70. 70 is a better sipper IMO but the 100 made a great cocktail base.

Today is my first day in NZ and this is my first cocktail bar, but... highly recommend Panacea.

1.5 oz - San Simon

.5 oz - high proof rye

1 oz - Cocchi Storico

.25 oz - lemon juice

3 dashes - orange bitter

I added galium triflorum (fragrant bedstraw) to my nocino with 100 proof vodka. How long should I allow it to extract without it overpowering? Thanks!

Fun thing to find at the airport lounge. Both were delicious. The Cynar was a lot more developed and less syrupy than a modern bottle.

So, I bought a bunch of different amaro when I initially got into the style about 2 years ago. I've drank through most of the ones I initially bought. However, I treated them all like your standard shelf-stable liquor. I've learned that some require refrigeration based on base and ABV. Most of the ones I had probably should've been kept in the fridge, but I'd not had an issue with any of them.

However, Novasalus was very different. I cracked it, tried it and immediately hated it. It was so bad that I didn't return to it (unlike Alta Verde, which I initially hated but came to love for it's clean finish, it's great in anything citrus). So, it's been sitting in a wine box in my basement ever since. In the interim, I've had some "bad" pours that people say are horrible, like Malort or this super-smoky whisky I can't recall the name of. Neither were actually that bad and I've been comparing everything to EN as the worst thing I've tasted liquor-wise. I would always bring up this spirit and have gotten some people curious about it. So, I found the bottle I'd squirreled away to bring to a bottle share. However, I tried a sip of it and I swear it's even worse than I recall. But I can't tell if that's due to it "going bad" or just the spirit. It really just coated and covered my palate in what I guess I'd describe as bitterness. I wouldn't describe it as sour or vinegar-like. I guess you could call it acrid, but this is probably the first thing I'd describe as that. It still has that soot/earthen taste that I recall though.

So, is this something that I just toss or is it just how it tastes? Is it even shareable at this point?

Seems that even on the distiller's website, they say it's fine at 1-2 years at room temp: https://alpenz.com/product-novasalus.html