Amaro Montenegro Premiata Specialità Liqueur

Amaro Montenegro Premiata Specialità Liqueur from Bologna, Italy has enchanted palates since its inception in 1885. Made with a secret blend of 40 botanicals, the liqueur has layers of nuanced flavors that work well in both cocktail and culinary recipes. Look for the distinctive green bottle with its unique shape and attractive antique gold label that bears its coat of arms. Serve chilled over ice as an aperitif or as an after dinner digestif. It also works well to bring layers of lusciousness to cocktails and culinary recipes. As they say in Italy, Salut!

Product Information: Amaro Montenegro Premiata Specialità Liqueur from Bologna, Italy, 23% alcohol. Retail: $39.99/750 ml bottle. Produced by Montenegro S.R.l., Bologna, Italy. Imported by E&J Gallo Spirits, Healdsburg, California.

Bottle Notes: “Original since 1885. First made in Bologna in 1885 by the young rebel genius Stanislao Cobianchi in homage to Princess Elena of Montenegro, future queen of Italy. D’Annunzio sang its praise, calling it “the liqueur of virtues.” 

“Incomparable with 40 botanicals from all over the world, selected, extracted, and mixed according to a secret recipe, jealously handed down through the generations, making an incomparable product. Unique thanks to 7 notes. Boiling, maceration and distillation performed in accordance with a traditional method, breathe life into 6 aromatic notes. The signature note, the seventh, is the “Premio” which seals the final quality of the product.” 

Tasting Notes: The color is a rich amber to entice your palate. Made with 40 botanicals including dried fruits, roots, seeds, bark, citrus peels, flowers and wood, there are heady aromatics on the nose. Researching product information on their website, we learned about the 6 notes of flavors: bitter and herbaceous, spicy and floral, sweet and roasted, fresh and balsamic, fruity and vegetal, and warm and tropical. The last note is a secret ingredient called “the Premio” and like many items of quality, a little goes a long way. For every 15,000 liters of Amaro Montenegro they only add 1 liter of “the Premio.”

The result is a delectable blend of balanced flavors between bitter and sweet that works well in a wide variety of cocktails and enhances culinary recipes.

On the palate we noticed diverse notes of anise, juniper berries, cardamom, dried orange peel, dark cherries, and others, which intrigued our palates. Luxury Experience was “In The Kitchen and Behind The Bar®” using Amare Montenegro to create two cocktail recipes, and a culinary recipe. With its rich flavor profile, the possibilities for how you to opt to drink or use it are endless.

Luxury Experience Cocktail and Culinary Menu
Luxury Experience – That’s Amore
Luxury Experience – Cherry Sparkler
Luxury Experience – Amaro Parfait

The Cocktail Recipes

Luxury Experience – That’s Amore

Luxury Experience – That’s Amore
Yield: 1 Cocktail
Glass Used: Martini Glass

Luxury Experience – That’s Amore is our playful reference to the product name, and that Stanislao Cobianchi created Amaro Montenegro for his love of Elena. We blended Amaro Montenegro, Tequila Zarpado Blanco which complements the herbaceous notes of the liqueur, with orange juice, and added 3 dashes of Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters to create this decadently delicious cocktail. We jazzed up the presentation with an espresso rim and a fanciful orange peel garnish.

Cocktail Ingredients:

Method for the Cocktail: add 1 teaspoon of instant espresso granules to a small plate and set aside. On another small plate, add 1 teaspoon of Amaro Montenegro to a small plate. Turn your Martini glass upside down and gently twist in the liqueur to rim the glass, then twist it in the espresso granules. Set glass aside. (Can be made ahead at bars or for parties.)

Combine cocktail ingredients in a shaker with 4 ice cubes. Shake hard to dissolve ice and thoroughly incorporate the ingredients. Strain into rimmed Martini glass. Garnish with orange peel.

Luxury Experience – Cherry Sparkler

Luxury Experience – Cherry Sparkler
Yield: 1 Cocktail
Glass Used: Rocks Glass

For our cocktail creation, Luxury Experience – Cherry Sparkler we wanted to celebrate the underlying cherry notes in the Amaro Montenegro and mixed it with Thompsons Cider Mill Semi-dry Hard Cider Apple Black Cherry and topped it off with Canada Dry Pomegranate Black Cherry Seltzer. It is a delicious and refreshing summer lower-alcohol cocktail as the Amaro Montenegro has only 23% alcohol and Thompsons Cider Mill Hard Cider has only 7% alcohol.

Cocktail Ingredients:

Method for the Cocktail: Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and stir to incorporate. Pour over an ice filled rocks glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.

The Culinary Recipe

Luxury Experience – Amaro Parfait

Luxury Experience – Amaro Parfait
Yield: 4 Servings

Amaro Montenegro’s rich flavor profile was the inspiration for Luxury Experience – Amaro Parfait, a luscious, layered dessert with Amaro Montenegro enhanced pastry cream, macerated Cape Gooseberries, and pistachio crunch. Easy to make, easy to love, and elegant enough to serve at dinner parties. Made on the stove, there is no baking involved, making it perfect for summertime.

Amaro Montenegro Pastry Cream Ingredients:

Method: Using a food processor, add the egg yolks, sugar, and salt and process until very smooth. Add cornstarch and process until smooth create a “slurry.” Heat the milk and heavy cream in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.

With the food processor running, when the milk mixture has bubbles starting to form around the edges of the pan (but is not boiling), slowly add 1 small ladle of the hot milk to the egg mixture. This will “temper” the eggs so the mixture will not curdle. Continue to slowly add one ladle at a time until the hot milk is in the food processor. Process to fully incorporate the mixture.

Return the hot milk and egg mixture to the saucepan, add the Amaro Montenegro and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl, let cool slightly, then lightly press plastic wrap into the pastry cream to prevent a skim from forming. When cool, refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Gooseberry Ingredients:

Method: Place the halved Cape Gooseberries in a jar, top with the Amaro Montenegro. Shake to coat. Let macerate in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Pistachio Crunch Ingredients:

Method: Add Amaro Montenegro and sugar to a sauté pan. Heat over medium heat to melt the sugar. Add the pistachios and stir to coat the nuts in the sugar mixture. Cook until sugar is absorbed into the nuts. Turn nuts out onto parchment paper and let cool.

Presentation: We like the look of this layered dessert in a stemmed glass. Begin with a layer of pastry cream, top with Cape Gooseberries, followed by a sprinkling of nuts, and repeat.

No matter how you opt to use Amaro Montenegro, whether it is sipped over ice, used in a cocktail, or used to flavor culinary recipes, the possibilities are endless.

Until next time, cheers, its cocktail time!

For more information on Amaro Montenegro, please visit their website: www.amaromontenegro.us or on social media: Instagram: www.Instagram.com/amaromontenegro_us  @amaromontenegro_us @amaromontenegro_it

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