Amaro Averna is an Italian bitters that is very much a part of Italian culture.
It was invented by a Sicilian monk about 100 years ago and the Averna company has maintained this same recipe to this day.
Amaro Averna is often drunk neat or on ice, but it makes a supreme cocktail. Here are a few recipes:
Averna Red & Salty
Ingredients:
1 part Amaro Averna
2 parts Blood Orange Juice
Crushed Ice
Salt
Add the Amaro, red orange juice and crushed ice to a blender and give it a whizz for a minute or two. Wet the rim of your Margherita-style glass with this mixture and gently dip it into salt. Pour your cocktail mix into the glass and enjoy!
Averna Sours
Ingredients:
1 part Amaro Averna
4 parts vodka
2 parts lemon juice
1 part sugar syrup
Decant all the ingredients into a shaker with crushed ice. Shake well and then pour the mixture into a tumbler. Garnish your cocktail with a cherry and a slice of lemon; it makes a perfect pool-side sipper.
Averna Royale
Ingredients:
Italian Prosecco
Splash about a finger of Amaro into a champagne flute and top off the glass with the best Italian bubbly. Elegant and simple, this spritz is popular with everyone.
Averniña
Ingredients:
1 part Amaro Averna
2 parts Cachaça
1 small Lime
Brown Sugar
Cut the lime into 8 pieces and chuck them into a tumbler. Add a tablespoon of brown sugar to the lime and swirl it around a bit. Add crushed ice, the Amaro and the Cachaça (a spirit popular in Brazil) and stir well with a stirrer. This is definitely a party cocktail!
Amaro Averna is available for purchase at Adriatic. Enjoy!
Adriatic Italian Food 