Amaro Bràulio

Fantastic Alpine Amaro. It is very delicate and soft but the underlying flavors are there. Lots of mint, pine, fennel, cinnamon, and tabacco. Reminds me of Fernet but sweeter and tuned way down

Mint chocolate and fresh air.

Intensely bitter but after a few more sips, gives way to that chalky, herbal Amaro goodness. Definite notes of peppermint as well.

Appearance: Translucent brown, the colour of strong black tea. Aroma: Benzoin, liquidamber storax, red aloe, a hint of peppermint and spearmint, pine needles, dried chamomile flowers, liquorice root (not liquorice candy), cassia, myrrh, sawdust and a waft of camphor. Flavour and Texture: Sweet and well-balanced herbal notes at the entry. As it rests on the palate a host of earthy, root-spice flavours emerge coupled with several resinous elements - pine tree sap, gum mastic, liquorice root extract and more. There are minty notes as well and flavours of gentian, wormwood and chamomile are never far away. It has incomparable complexity and balance. The finish veers towards the precipice of bitterness but then backs away at the last second, leaving a sweet cola-herbal quality in the aftertaste. The texture is rich, heavy and full but not at all syrupy or cloying. On the contrary, it has a crisp, fresh quality. For my third review of the classic amari I decided to tackle what is perhaps the most complex of them all. Bràulio is an assertive but poised expression of iconic earthy aromas and flavours, featuring root-spices, herbs and resin extracts. Nosing it is like coming across an herb-garden in a spruce forest sawmill while drinking slightly sweetened chamomile tea. There is also a very old-fashioned medicinal character to it. I don't mean medicinal as it is usually employed in whisky circles to refer to that "iodine/hospital antiseptic" aroma of some Islay whiskies - this is more like mercurochrome or friar's balsam. More earthy and herbal, like the smell of an old-time medicine cabinet. It is delicious as a digestif and is one of the few amari that can be equally enjoyed when chilled from the freezer, neat over ice, at room temperature, or gently warmed. It can be used in cocktails but I prefer it neat - it always seems somehow wrong to sully such perfect balance (although I must admit it is delicious as a long drink over ice with a slice of orange and soda water). Fernet Branca may be the king of amari, by dint of its noble and uncompromising profile, but Bràulio is unquestionably his more charismatic younger brother - the one everyone really wants to see on the throne. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)