With the continued popularity of the Amaretto Sour to keep it on back bars and in drinks cabinets, and buoyed by the current appetite for Italian drinks, things could certainly be worse for amaretto.
The classic Italian liqueur has weathered the storms of the past few years, perhaps even benefiting to an extent, with home bartenders learning to shake Amaretto Sours of their own. Meanwhile, the on-trade remains important, not only for volume, but helping amaretto grow beyond that solitary signature serve.
“Amaretto has benefited from the on-premise boom post-pandemic and grew close to 5% again in 2022,” says Jose Luis Hermoso, research director at IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. That global increase in volumes exceeds the 3% growth in total liqueurs reported by the IWSR for the same period.
“We’ve seen momentum building around amaretto, with interest increasing in the category over the years,” confirms Jean-Robert Bellanger, co-founder of Adriatico amaretto, who believes that his brand of “new-generation liqueurs are bringing back almond flavours in a new, versatile way”.
Godelief van Erve, global marketing director for De Kuyper Royal Distillers, which includes an amaretto in its extensive range of liqueurs, is similarly optimistic. “Amaretto is a very stable category, and a very promising one due to the popularity of Sours and Mai Tai cocktails,” she says.
There’s little doubt that amaretto is receiving a boost at the moment from the current interest in Italian drinks. While the liqueur’s global volume growth exceeds that of the overall liqueur category, it’s not growing at quite the pace of Italian liqueurs on the whole, 9% between 2021 and 2022, according to the IWSR. Being part of that success certainly helps. As Hermoso puts it: “Curiosity about Italian spirits following the global success of the Aperol Spritz is a plus.”
“Italian food and drink are really popular all over the world, and naturally that has been great for amaretto,” says Luxardo global brand ambassador Gareth Franklin. “This extends beyond drinks into the world of baking and easier desserts, like adding a shot to the classic affogato.”
Lisa Tosolini, co-owner of Bepi Tosolini, and its international sales & marketing director, agrees. “Amaretto maintains a robust link with Italian culture, garnering noteworthy acclaim and allure across global markets where aficionados value Italian beverages and gastronomic heritage.”
Halo effect
In the UK, Bepi Tosolini distributor Marussia Beverages is seeing the impact of this interest in all things Italian. “Italian cuisine is the number one food category searched for on Google, and we’re seeing consumers and customers alike looking for more authentic Italian spirits to elevate their Italian dining experience,” reports senior brand manager Olivia Yelf.
The halo effect from Italian drinks and cuisine is certainly a help, but amaretto has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to maintaining its own popularity, and introducing new drinkers too. “The Amaretto Sour has the benefit of being easy to prepare, and being well suited to home cocktails as well as bars,” says Hermoso.
Indeed, the Amaretto Sour climbed three spots to 23 in this year’s Drinks International Cocktail Report, the results of a survey of 100 top bars around the world.
“The Amaretto Sour acts as a brilliant recruiter to the category as it’s incredibly simple for bartenders and consumers alike,” confirms Yelf, who believes that premium expressions such as Bepi Tosolini’s Saliza amaretto have been particularly well placed to succeed in recent years. “We saw significant growth over Covid as consumers both premiumised and turned their hands to making simple cocktails at home like the Amaretto Sour.”
But brands aren’t complacent either, recognising the need to look beyond this headline serve. As Disaronno senior global marketing manager Simona Bianco explains: “Classics such as the Amaretto Sour are there for a reason, but our success comes from the versatility of Disaronno, allowing bartenders to explore their creativity and propose something different.”
Bianco has seen this creativity first hand, with the brand’s Shake Your Talent initiative. Recruiting bartenders for the brand’s bars at 50 Best Bars events around the world, the programme has apparently received more than 300 cocktails.
Tosolini is seeing this move beyond the brand’s primary cocktail serve too. “While the classic Amaretto Sour remains an iconic choice, it is crucial for the amaretto category to expand its cocktail offerings to reach new consumers and maintain the interest of existing ones,” she says. “By continually exploring and promoting innovative cocktails, the category can elevate its presence in the spirits market and capitalise on the versatility of amaretto as a premium liqueur.”
In terms of classic amaretto cocktails, Van Erve identifies a number of others growing in popularity, such as the Godfather, as well as a Mai Tai made with amaretto. “The latter is definitely one to watch – it’s a nice retro cocktail that is coming back in a lot of markets,” she says.
The Godfather is an important one for Lazzaroni, with plans to present its amaretto in a cocktail entitled The Godfather in Alpha Gen at the next Bar Convent Berlin, together with longstanding bartender collaborator Samuele Ambrosi. The updated serve pairs the amaretto with vodka, oloroso sherry and oak bitters.
Franklin is another that sees the benefits of new cocktail creations for the category. “The Amaretto Sour is the primary volume driver, but bartenders being creative has a massive impact on brand awareness,” he says. “This has a knock-on effect with other bartenders who try the drinks and get creative too. Sometimes these drinks end up in books, like the Padrino in Schofield’s Fine & Classic Cocktails, and the influence is amplified to an even wider audience of people.”
Marketing strategy
There’s more to amaretto than cocktails, according to some. Among these is Michele Longari, director and Vinitaly International Academy Italian wine ambassador for Hay Wines in the UK, which markets its own Awesome amaretto, created by Italian liqueur producers Piolo & Max. “Cocktails are very important to the category, but they cannot be its own foundation, otherwise amaretto will never find a broader commercial spectrum,” says Longari. “The most simple use of amaretto is sipping it on the rocks while having an after-dinner chat with other guests – I believe this needs to be amaretto’s starting point in terms of marketing strategy, and then we can expand into other interesting ideas like cocktails and mixology.”
As a result, Longari sees more potential for amaretto in food-led venues. “Many trade operators think that the market for amaretto is in bars, but I think that restaurants are a much better fit. Not only can it be used as a normal liqueur, but it is a perfect ingredient for desserts and biscuits,” he says. “A restaurant offering, at the end of a meal, a small selection of desserts made with (and also matched to) a quality amaretto, would be able to create a unique and memorable experience for its customers.”
Hermoso is in agreement. “There are opportunities that have not yet been explored, such as amaretto and dessert pairings,” he says. “The liqueur category is well suited to a wide array of consumption occasions, of which only a few have been promoted for amaretto.”
Adriatico’s marketing approach follows a similar vein, with a focus on sampling the product neat. “Our products are so different from previous category leaders that we need to invite customers to taste them in their pure form first,” says Bellanger. “This gives consumers an understanding of the profile and complexity of flavours, before we show Adriatico’s versatility by creating mini sample cocktails, adding lemon juice, ginger beer or coffee.”
For the category leader, it’s all about linking the brand with the right Italian cues. “Our strategy is communicating the premiumness of Disaronno through the Dolce Vita style, running both TV and digital campaigns,” says Bianco, who adds that the brand engages with bartenders through content related to its long-term partnership with The World’s 50 Best Bars, as its official Italian liqueur partner.
Disaronno is also responsible for some of the most prominent innovation in the category, with its recently-launched white cream liqueur, Disaronno Velvet. “We have launched this with a very refreshing and summery proposition entitled the Velvet Batida, made with Disaronno Velvet and coconut water, wanting to break the rules of a typical cream liqueur’s consumption,” says Bianco.
It’s not the only one innovating. Adriatico, already offering two variants, a Bianco and a Roasted, has been experimenting with cask ageing, having already released one expression aged in Caroni rum casks, and another in Heaven Hill bourbon casks. “Following the success of these, we will launch our new Bonollo Grappa Cask Aged amaretto later this year, and are already planning our 2024 limited-edition expression.” says Bellanger. “We want to push the category forward.”
Liquid innovation such as this, building on the category’s strength as the headline ingredient in the Amaretto Sour, not to mention its versatility in other cocktails, can only be a good thing.
