Amaro Lucano is an Italian herbal

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

in the Amaro category. It is produced by Amaro Lucano S.p.A., a family-owned company based in

Pisticci Pisticci ( Metapontino: ; la, Pesticium) is a town comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Pisticci is the fourth most populous town in the region and the most populous in the province after Matera. It is k ...

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

. The adjective "Lucano" comes from

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Brutti ...

, another name for Basilicata.

History

It was originally created in 1894 by Pasquale Vena, a pastry chef who blended more than 30 herbs. The secret recipe has been passed from generation to generation in the Vena family. In 1900, Amaro Lucano gained fame throughout the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

, after the Vena family became the official supplier to the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

, whose coat of arms appears on the label. After a period of recession during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in 1950 the workshop became an industrial enterprise under the management of Vena's sons Leonardo and Giuseppe and in 1965 a new factory in the

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

Pisticci Scalo was opened. In the 1970s, the Vena family also began producing other alcohol-based drinks under the name "Lucano" such as the

Sambuca Sambuca () is an Italian anise-flavoured, usually colourless, liqueur. Its most common variety is often referred to as ''white sambuca'' to differentiate it from other varieties that are deep blue (''black sambuca'') or bright red (''red sambuc ...

Limoncello Limoncello () is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in Southern Italy, especially in the region around the Sorrentine Peninsula and the coast of Amalfi. It is the second most popular liqueur in Italy and is traditionally served chilled as a ...

and

Caffè Italians are well known for their special attention to the preparation, the selection of the blends, and the use of accessories when creating many types of coffees. Many of the types of coffee preparation known today also have their roots here ...

varieties, as well as liqueur-filled chocolates.

The making of Amaro Lucano

The process of preparing Amaro Lucano is divided in seven steps: the selection, the infusion, the processing, the secret, the control, the mixture, and the bottling.

The Selection

The herbs needed for the mixture come from different areas of the world. They are dried naturally, crushed and mixed together. Among the herbs used, there are:. *

Artemisia absinthium ''Artemisia absinthium'' (wormwood, grand wormwood, absinthe, absinthium, absinthe wormwood, mugwort, wermout, wermud, wormit, wormod) is a species of ''Artemisia'', native to temperate regions of Eurasia and North Africa, and widely naturalized ...

* Artemisia pontica *

Salvia sclarea ''Salvia sclarea'', the clary or clary sage, is a biennial or short-lived herbaceous perennial in the genus ''Salvia''. It is native to the northern Mediterranean Basin, along with some areas in north Africa and Central Asia. The plant has a leng ...

(Clavy Sage) * Musk yarrow *

Cnicus ''Cnicus benedictus'', known by the common names St. Benedict's thistle, blessed thistle, holy thistle and spotted thistle, is a thistle-like plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, from Portugal north to southern F ...

(Holy Thistle) *

bitter orange Bitter orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the citrus tree ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'' and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is probably a cross bet ...

Gentiana ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostl ...

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They grow t ...

* Sambucus elderberry *

Ruta ''Ruta'' (commonly known as rue) is a genus of strongly scented evergreen subshrubs, 20–60 cm tall, in the family Rutaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, Macaronesia and southwest Asia. About ten species are accepted in the genus. T ...

aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

Essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

The Infusion

The mixture is steeped in solutions of pure alcohol and water; it then goes through hot

infusion Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An inf ...

process in thermo-controlled baths (55°/60 °C) overnight.

The Processing

The mixture undergoes

hot pressing Hot pressing is a high-pressure, low-strain-rate powder metallurgy process for forming of a powder or powder compact at a temperature high enough to induce sintering and creep processes. This is achieved by the simultaneous application of heat a ...

to obtain an infusion.

The Secret

Once the infusion is ready, the family secret ingredient is added to obtain the

extract An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures, absolutes or in powder form. The aromatic principles of many spices, nuts, h ...

The Control

Laboratory tests are run; the extract is aged for a period of five months. During the aging process there is stratification, which means that heavy components are on the bottom, while lighter components are on the top. The “heart” of the extract is the one kept.

The Mixture

Pure alcohol, essential oils, water, the aged extract, sugar, caramel and water are mixed in a large tank to get a hydro-alcoholic solution.

The Bottling Line

The mixture is then filtered, bottled and ready to be sold.

Overview

Amaro Lucano is caramel brown in color, has a bittersweet flavor, and its strength is 28%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

. It can be savoured neat, chilled, with ice or orange zest. It is usually served as a digestif after a meal and also as a base for cocktails.

Cocktails

Amaro Lucano is used as an

apéritif and digestif Apéritifs (; ) and digestifs () are drinks, typically alcoholic, that are normally served before (''apéritif'') or after (''digestif'') a meal. Apéritif An apéritif is an alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appe ...

, after-dinner drink, and all-day drink. It is used in cocktails such as Italian Sangria, Gelato Lucano, Amarcord.

Other products

*Caffè Lucano *Sambuca Lucano *Limoncello Lucano *Vitae *Barocca *Amante *I vitigni del sud *Passione bianca

Awards

*Gold medal at the

San Francisco World Spirits Competition The San Francisco World Spirits Competition was founded in 2001 by Anthony Dias Blue as an off-shoot of the San Francisco International Wine Competition. It assesses hundreds of entrants annually (1,407 in 2013 from 63 countries) with tastings inv ...

2014 *Three stars at the

Superior Taste Award The Superior Taste Award is an annual non-competitive prize open to any consumer food or drink product, subject to payment of an entry fee of Euro 750-1650. It is organised since 2005 by the International Taste Institute, who specialised in the s ...

2014 *Silver Medal (Gold Medal for the Caffè Lucano) at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, Amaro Lucano
Official website
Italian liqueurs Products introduced in 1894 Italian brands