Zucca Rabarbaro

Perfect combo of smoky fruit and cola-esque amaro flavor. A lovely after dinner sipper.

Yum. Sweet mild syrup rhubarb amaro

Similar profile to me of an amaro like, say, Cynar, but with clear notes of rhubarb adding a subtle fruitiness throughout. Also a little smokiness in there on the nose and back end. Won’t be my go to amaro, but is quite pleasant and will be a nice change of pace during summer months.

Appearance: Dark brown, almost black. Very like the appearance of black coffee. Aroma: Charred wood, bitumen, liquorice, orange peel, aniseed. Flavour and Texture: Sweet arrival with a burnt-cola, toffee and chocolate quality. Background notes of orange zest and cinchona. Deep and mouthcoating. Zucca has a similarity to some of the “alpine” amari such as Braulio, but it is not as herbal, and it is also similar to Cappelletti's Rababaro Sfumato, but that amaro is a lot smokier. The keystone ingredients here are extract of Rheum palmatum (which gives it an asphalt-like smoky note) plus sweet liquorice and orange oil. It also bears a resemblance to Cynar but it does not have as much complexity as that amaro and the stage here is very much dominated by the star ingredient. Good as a digestif, particularly good if warmed slightly and served with a slice of lemon or orange as a winter warmer. The only thing about Zucca that I dislike is its tendency to become cloying or overly sweet after a while. As an amaro it measures fairly low on the bitterness scale which makes it more immediately accessible but less compelling over time. It's not an amaro I buy frequently but I have had several bottles over the years so there is definitely something attractive about it. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)