In a report on the amaretto category last year by Clinton Cawood, Jose Luis Hermoso, research director at IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, said: “Amaretto has benefited from the on-premise boom post-pandemic and grew close to 5% again in 2022.” According to IWSR data for the same period, the global increase in volumes for total liqueurs was 3%, making amaretto one of the best performers within the liqueurs family.
In The Cocktail Report 2024 by Drinks International, the Amaretto Sour rose six places to become the 17th bestselling classic cocktail in the world’s best bars. Clearly the classic egg-white serve has played a role in the category’s volume growth, but in Italy the trend is changing.
Peppe Doria, owner of Bologna cocktail bar Volare, says: “Most Amaretto Sours sold in my bar are for tourists. Italians are just a few.” However in the UK, one of the biggest export markets for amaretto, Ben Alcock from Filthy XIII in Bristol says guests are always asking for Amaretto Sours, suggesting it’s the biggest volume driver for the liqueur and that “guests never specify a brand, they just expect it to taste of Disaronno”.
There’s no denying Disaronno’s chokehold on the category. With more than 1 million 9-litres cases, it’s the biggest producer by a long way. Its history dates back to the 16th century and it regularly collaborates with fashion designers, building on its image as a premium, sexy brand from Milan. Predominantly served over ice as a digestivo or in Amaretto Sours, Disaronno will always form a significant bulk of the category – although there are some younger brands moving in different directions.
Fresh take
Puglia-based Adriatico launched five years ago and, unlike other producers, it roasts Italian almonds before maceration and adds sea salt to provide a different take on traditional amaretto. One of its key differentials is the reduced sugar level – 205g per litre compared to 340g in Disaronno, according to Difford’s Guide.
“When we launched in 2019 we didn’t want to compete with another brand, we wanted to show the world that amaretto could be different,” says Jean-Robert Bellanger, co-founder of Adriatico. “All the distilleries I visited said that creating a salty spirit wasn’t possible, but since we made it happen in our amaretto, other brands across different categories have launched spirits with a salty flavour. Our two initial products showed people that the amaretto category could be really sexy, with less sugar and more complexity.”
Adriatico Bianco is the other expression in the main portfolio, made using crushed almonds to create an amaretto in the style of a cream liqueur, but without lactose.
Bellanger adds: “We’re fighting against the digestivo, we don’t want amaretto to be the forgotten spirit at the end of a meal. Because we’ve reduced the sugar and added a salty element, we’re trying to bring it forward to the aperitivo moment. Of course, the Amaretto Sour is important to the category, but Adriatico is so versatile that we can play around with cocktails a lot more – even our Bianco makes a fantastic Paloma. We’re also seeing a trend towards ’80s cocktails in Italy, for example the Grasshopper, which works perfectly with the brand.”
Adriatico is now sold in 42 countries and plans to infiltrate Canada and more US states later this year, while Bellanger sees the future of the brand in the top end of hospitality. “We’re mainly focused in the on-trade and specialist off -trade outlets, we aren’t interested in supermarkets. I couldn’t have dreamt of being in some of the most amazing bars around the world, and one of the great advantages for us is that none of the major spirits companies have an amaretto brand, so when we visit a bar we aren’t competing with huge distribution deals.”
Aged amaretto
While the success of its two flagship products has seen the brand increase sales 30% in 2024, Bellanger was never satisfied with just the pair.
“I always loved barrel-aged spirits, and I wanted to try it with amaretto because it had never been done before,” adds Bellanger. “At Bar Convent Berlin back in 2019, the Heaven Hill brand ambassador loved the product and offered to give us some barrels to age it in. We gave it a try and it was fantastic. In 2021 we launched the first limited edition and all 900 bottles sold out in a week.”
Since then, limited editions of Adriatico have been released each September in line with the brand’s birthday, including amaretto aged in legendary Caroni rum casks, grappa barrels and, most recently, those of Maison Ferrand.
“This year we’re launching an amaretto which has aged for eight months in Maison Ferrand casks which previously held Planteray Isle of Fiji rum,” says Bellanger. “We performed a ʻdouble swap’ which saw Adriatico aged in the Fijian rum casks and Planteray receive five barrels (two from the grappa edition and three from Caroni rum) to create a Barbados rum aged in Adriatico.”
According to Bellanger, it will be the first time that Barbados rum has been aged in amaretto casks – Adriatico will launch 2,600 bottles and Planteray 2,800. Bellanger also hinted that next year’s collaboration will have a Mexican theme.
Of course, for the large part the Amaretto Sour, predominantly poured with Disaronno, will continue to carry the bulk of the liqueur’s volume around the world. However, brands like Adriatico are charting a different path of innovation which could unlock new opportunities for the category and, who knows, maybe a modern amaretto classic cocktail.
