Carpano Botanic Bitter

Basically a pricier Campari.

Rating: 17/23 I'm hoping that this will be a superior alternative to both Campari and Aperol. I haven't really liked either, but they've been occasionally useful in cocktails. This is pricier, but it's far from ruinously expensive. N: Herbal with some spiciness and a full sweetness. Menthol, ginger. clove, cinnamon. A hint of dusty earth. It's very difficult to pick out individual; scents - it's really more of an overall profile thing. It's does smell a little like red food, though not to the same extent that Campari does. P: This definitely has that red food coloring bitterness like Campari does, but it's much more restrained and I'm actually prettty OK with it here, especially once it's further obscured by a cocktail. This is drier than Campari, but I wouldn't say that it isn't sweet by any means. There's more nuance here, but the flavor is less big and full. Menthol, ginger, clove, cinnamon, faint clover honey, some dusty earth, other herbal flavors with occasional vegetal references. It's sweet, but doesn't just taste like a bitter liqueur plus sugar water. I do get that red food coloring flavor a little bit. F: Menthol, sweet red food coloring that borders on red Italian merengue buttercream frosting at times. Ginger, clove, the faintest sichuan peppercorn. - Conclusion - Campari is sort of sweeter and savorier with more of that red food coloring flavor. This is cleaner with more herbal nuance, but the two really do fill the same niche. One thing to consider here is that Campari and its substitutes are almost always employed alongside rosso vermouth. So picking the best pairing of those two is probably more important than picking the best Campari-like liqueur. What I'm really saying is that at the end of the day the most important thing is to find a liqueur that pairs well with Carpano Antiqua Formula Vermouth. There's a subtlety here that there isn't in Campari. This sin't a big win in general over Campari, but there are some high points - like a boulevardier with Russell's Reserve 10 - that demonstrates how this can be top dog. For other cocktails more focused on hedonistic richness and sweetness, Campari could be better, but for complexity and balance this is generally a bit better. And it has a bit less red food coloring flavor. This is tricky because it is more subtle and complex with fewer flaws than Campari, but it lacks that rich, full sweetness that Campari brings to a lot of cocktails. If the Campari is overwhelming, this is a good choice, but it's spicier and less sweet, so some cocktails just won't be as hedonistic with this. Sometimes it's in the bitters to fill in the gaps, and they often do help substantially with this, but it's still hard to come to a clear conclusion here. That said, adding Angostura bitters really does make me lean toward this with how they harmonize with the spices this has. I find liqueurs parinfully difficult to rate. With regular spirits, I have them neat, add a bit of water, let them age in the bottle, and that's about it. With these, I need to find the right type of spirit, right specific spirit, and right proportion to build a confident rating. and what if I just didn't think of the combination that makes a liqueur great? My overall impression here is that the balance is nice, but this lacks the full punch that a cocktail often needs and it's a bit watery in comparison with others (e.g. Campari). I appreciate the balance, but in my experience home-blending, I've found that big bold notes are usually more important than balance. Because in mixing things, I'm trying to creat a balance. I'm not great at math, but this takes me back to eigenvectors: what I'm really looking for when mixing things is to combine characteristic elements that are strongly pronounced. Indiviudally complex flavors tend to get muddled. As a result, I like this in most situations, so is a good safe choice, but I'm really looking for something that captivates me more. It's not that expensive to buy 2 or 3 bottles or amaro, so I'd rather get some solid coverage with some different angles than depend on a generically balanced flavor. Also, value-wise, this is more than 50% more expensive than Campari. I od overall find this to be a tad better than Campari though. I'm looking at a 16 here. Not a big improvement overall, but I guess a tad better. A big problem I'm having here though is that I can find plenty of mediocre spirits that tis improves, but I'm struggling to create any cocktails that I would give a really high score to. And giving this the rating of the best cocktail I can create with it is really as generous as I can get. OK, it's been quite some time now. Quite some time. This is running low. And although I think that Campari sometimes adds a bolder flavor that works really well, I like the complexity and easiness of this. It works reliably, even when it isn't optimal. And the complexity works well. There are some subtle home-invented cocktails that I've made with this that I've been very happy with. They mostly include Carpano Antica Formula, which I like better than this, but this is still quite a nice addition. I can sort of see an argument for a 14, but I don't think this is likely below a 15. A 19 seems high, but maybe. No way a 20. I'm currently leaning toward a 17.

Notes of various botanical such as gentian, rhubarb, saffron, bitter orange peel…. Beautiful color, due to natural saffron and elegant bitter taste. Important to me, a minor density from sugar, in respect to some famous italian competitors. Excellent in mixology to make americano Negroni or Spritz, or a rimple shaked