cascode
Caffo Vecchio Amaro del Capo
Amaro — Calabria, Italy
Reviewed
October 19, 2020 (edited August 9, 2022)
Appearance: Pale translucent amber-gold.
Aroma: Orange petals and peel, wildflowers, honeycomb, fresh aromatic herbs and flowers (lavender, lemon thyme, jasmine, honeysuckle, clove).
Flavour and Texture: Citrus (lemon and orange) with honey, red cherries, vanilla pods, a hint of peppermint and a little liquorice. That's just the arrival. It expands into spicy notes (clove, saffron, sweet cinnamon, mild chilli), root extracts and more honey with a warming and comforting texture. The mouth-feel is heavy and syrupy but not cloying and it rolls off from the sweet notes into a demi-sec and slightly bitter finish, with notes of chincona, gentian and wormwood. There's an elusive note of lavender and violets as well.
A very complete and balanced amaro. Quite sweet and mildly hot with a familial resemblance to Montenegro, but this is lighter, a tad sweeter and once you get to understand it, more floral in character.
You could substitute this for Montenegro in any cocktail in which it has become your "secret weapon" and it would up the ante and leave them guessing all over again. It's a very good amaro and like other reviewers here I'm amazed that this does not have a higher profile.
"Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)
UPDATE - 16 June 2021
Original rating of 90/100 (5 stars) downgraded.
60.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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Review and rating updated
@PBMichiganWolverine You can take it any way you like, really. I enjoy it neat as a digestif at room temperature but it's also great in cocktails as an addition to vermouth. When chilled I thought it lost some complexity as, like Montenegro, it is at the delicate end of the amaro spectrum.
@bigwhitemike totally agree...when @cascode gives a 5 star, it worthwhile to take a look.
@PBMichiganWolverine a 5 star review from @cascode necessitates investigation, for sure. Will be looking for this.
Do you have this chilled and neat? or is it in a cocktail?
I've seen others comparing with with Montenegro too, so I'm pretty interested in trying it :) Sadly, it's going to be a while since I don't work through amaro very quickly.
I believe from your review that you really like this. I will look for it at my local store.