Cardamaro Amaro of Cardoon Liqueur 750ml

Cardamaro is produced by the Bosca family, winemakers based in Canelli d'Asti in Italy's Piedmont region who are now in their eighth generation. The recipe began in the 1950s with Rachele Torlasco Bosca, a scholar and herbalist within the family who grew fascinated with the medicinal qualities of the cardoon, a thistle-like relative of the artichoke that grows in the surrounding countryside. Her original formula was later refined by the family's herbalists into the version still produced today.

Cardamaro starts from a base of local Moscato wine rather than a distilled spirit, which gives it a softer, more vinous character than most amari. Cardoon and blessed thistle form the backbone of the recipe, joined by roughly two dozen additional botanicals including ginger and other spices, each infused separately in neutral alcohol before being blended into the wine. The finished liqueur then rests in oak for a period of months, which rounds out the texture and adds a layer of gentle spice before bottling.

Cardamaro shows a reddish amber color with a nose that leans toward dried fruit, clove, and licorice alongside the vegetal bitterness of cardoon. On the palate it turns soft and full, balancing sweet, raisiny wine notes against an herbal, faintly medicinal edge, with a long finish that carries a whisper of tobacco and baking spice.