Appearance: Opaque dark brown, almost black. Against a strong light red edges are seen. The liquid forms thick, slow-flowing amber legs. Aroma: Orange juice, orange zest, cola and a faint trace of spearmint. Taste and Texture: Sweet arrival with herbal-tinged oranges, liquorice root, chicory and pomegranate juice. In the mid-palate a hint of spicy bitterness comes forward with mild anise, juniper and petit wormwood notes but this is balanced by sweet orange and chocolate flavours. The finish is warm, soft and fresh and turns back towards full sweetness with orange and cola being the final notes. The texture is full. This amaro has an interesting profile and it is a little different to the norm. Many amari start off sweet and then tail into bitterness, of varying intensity. Averna is bitter right from the entry, but it is a low-intensity, soft bitterness that never becomes intrusive. This character derives from the juice and zest of myrtle-leaved orange tree fruit, which is a primary ingredient in this amaro. You might recognize it as the flavour of the popular Italian soft drink, chinotto. It is used in many amari, sometimes alone and sometimes in combination with sweet orange juice and zest. There is a satisfying completeness to Averna and it seems somehow to be a perfect encapsulation of "dark citrus". It is versatile and can be enjoyed neat, over ice with a twist of orange peel, or as a long drink with soda or tonic water. It can be used as a substitute for orange bitters in cocktails where it adds complexity and sweetness as well as the expected bitter orange note, and if used well it can transform a mixed drink spectacularly. “Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)