Don Ciccio & Figli Concerto

Nose - fennel, espresso, almond, dark chocolate, clove, vanilla syrup, barley sugar, mild ethanol burn. Taste - sweet licorice, dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, barley sugar, clove, mild alcohol bite, finishing medium long with licorice, dark chocolate, and coffee flavors. I’m a complete amaro novice, so I was excited to see that @PBMichiganWolverine most graciously shared a sample of this with me. Interestingly, the company is headquartered right in my backyard, but I hadn’t heard of them until now. Let’s dive in. So my first thought when nosing and tasting this is that it slightly reminds me of Jäger at a lower proof, but better in every way. Move past the luscious, syrupy licorice and you’ll find silky dark chocolate and rich espresso. It’s a bit like Jäger mixed with chocolate and coffee liqueurs, but executed more masterfully than any of the component parts I’ve experienced previously. This is not a particularly complex concoction, but a delicious sipper nonetheless. Overall, this is great. I’m planning to pick up a bottle for myself, along with the handy Discovery Kit they sell, which includes samples of each of their fifteen liqueurs. I imagine this would serve as an excellent after dinner dram, or even possibly as a drizzle over ice cream.

I don’t know what the hell this is, but it’s damn delicious. I got this based on a friend’s recommendation. At just over $35, if it didn’t pan out, not too much of a loss. But if it did, that’s great VFM. So, a quick search on their website states this is Amalfi coast style amaro, made in the US ( DC , to be precise). It’s based as close as possible to a recipe dated from 1696. Apparently made with barley, espresso, oven roasted acacia wood and 15 botanicals. I had this simply with some ice. On the nose, it’s all dark chocolate and espresso. But the taste...WOW! Chocolate, espresso...and fennel? I’m getting such a fennel taste, and somehow works well in concert with the chocolate and espresso. Until now, best amaro I’ve had was the Brooklyn based Forthave Marseille. This is by far better. If you’re looking for something different than whiskey, but not sweet, balanced and complex , this is a must-try.