Lazzaroni Amaretto Liqueur

Not my favorite amaretto. Tasted a bit of over ripe fruit.

Being based around the Lazzaroni almond cookies, rather than the usual almond (apricot) pits, i find there’s an extra taste here of eggs, approaching meringue. It works well. A bit less sweet than other amarettos, and tasty as an aperitif straight or over ice. Doesn’t work as well in mixed drinks as more mainstream brands, but still does OK on, say, a Godfather at 2-1 ratio.

Rating: 20/23 This is it: the legendary, original amaretto! It's made with cookies that have apricot pits in them, not with almonds, so I'm curious to see how it compares with the usual amaretto profile. I'm hoping that this fills a niche that regular amaretto misses. This smells and tastes a lot like regular amaretto, with that odd almond flavor absolutely pervading it. There's more of a fruity flavor like apricot and peach, with a lingering vegetal, floral, bitterness. It's very sweet, but not as sweet as the like of Disaronno (13/23). Disaronno gives me sweetness and richness that make me think of doughnuts. This is far more complex. It's fascinating. So many more spices and herbs. It's rich and full, but cleaner and more complex. It approaches amaro in complexity. It's not all that bitter, but there is some there. This is sweet, but well balanced. I mean, it does have a lot of sugar, but there's so much going on. For cocktails looking of a sweet liqueur, this is very promising. This lacks the bitterness of Averna (20/23), but it's similarly complex. I'm getting all sorts of fruity and floral notes mixed in with some bitter nuttiness that has a lot going on. This is so much better than Disaronno. This is far closer in quality to the Averna, though the comparison is a bit tough. We're talking a 17 at minimum. I really wish that this didn't have a metal screw top. Wow. This has so much going on. Even on its own, it's great. I would absolutely drink this instead of having dessert. Frangelico (13/23) has complexity that's closer to this than what Disaronno has by far, but this is way less stale and funky than Frangelico is. Again, this is an easy 17. I think it's higher. Honestly, the biggest problem here might be that I'm not sure what cocktail to make with this that doesn't just crush its complexity. Maybe this is just best on its own. What a delightful liqueur. Coming back to this, it's quite competitive with Averna. They're very different, but both are very complex. I'm thinking that that this is at most as good as the Averna, but not much below it. My thinking here is that the Averna is great for mixing, whereas, this is more of a decadent after dinner drink. This is a 19 or 20. It's excellent and really demonstrates the capability of the amaretto category as more than a mixer. Coming back to this, I'm thinking a 20 or a 21, so I'm landing on a 20. What a decadent, complex, and delightful liqueur!

Nose: cherry, shortbread cookie, gingerbread Taste: mirrors the palate with hints of milk chocolate An amazing liqueur for the price. It's great sipped neat or in cocktails