Liquor Review: Amaretto Di Amore

      Amaretto liqueurs have always been what I like to call, a “gateway liquor” for a lot of us in the alcohol community.  It starts with amaretto sours, then amaretto and vodka with a splash of sour, then just vodka ice.  Soon, you’ll be at the bar yelling at the bartender because your 151-proof rum and cola tastes watered down.  Amaretto di Amore is no different.  With a little time and practice, it’ll bring around many more recruits to our alcohol depended lifestyles.  Or as we guys at BoozeBasher like to call it, the “good life.”

     Amaretto di Amore is a rich, velvety-smooth, almond-flavored liqueur that is made with the crushed essence of apricot.  For centuries, the flavor of rich, sweet almond has been enjoyed in romantic elixirs throughout Italy, Sicily, Greece, the Far East and Near.  In folklore, the almond nut has been associated with luck and romance, so it’s only natural that the di Amore is used in the name Amaretto di Amore.

     Amaretto is really simple in flavor.  It is sweet but not so sweet that you can only manage to drink one without passing out from a sugar overdose.  There is a nice almond taste, and it’s very smooth going down.  You can solo this stuff, but unlike the commercial, no one just sits around and drinks it on the rocks.  It is best used for a mixer.  And it makes a great mixer.  Di Amore adds a bit of perfection to whatever you are trying to make.  It’s not very strong by itself (42 proof), but it has an amazing ability to cover up the strong alcohol taste from the stronger liquors mixed with it.  This skill, added with its sweet smooth taste, can make Amore a very dangerous drink.  I can’t say it covers the taste of stronger liquors without explaining exactly why anyone would do this…girls love it!  Use this skill wisely, young ones.

     Now something with such a good side has to have a horrible dark side, and it’s ceratainly a dark one.  Di Amore by itself will not get you drunk or even buzzed.  It must be mixed.  That means that whenever you have a bottle of this stuff, you are going to have to have a bottle of something bigger and stronger.  And as the saying goes(which I just decided is now a saying), if it can’t make you drunk, it can’t give you a hangover. Why does no hangover have to come at such a high price? Then again, for the little price of $10, you might as well just get it and see what you can make happen.

     $10 for a liquor that the girls are sure to love, makes Amaretto di Amore well worth the price.  Plus, if you don’t feel like really drinking, you can just mix it with a cola from the fridge and give it to the kids.  They are going to start drinking one day.  Don’t you want to at least be there to see little Timmy’s or little Susie’s first sip into manhood or womanhood?  Or you can just use it to get you warmed up for that long night of drinking that you need after a tough week of work.  Either way, grab a bottle, and get ready to join us in the “good life.”  It’s okay, your first shot of 151 at the bar is on me.  Then we can decide if that damn bartender is really watering down our drinks.

Sipability – 7.0

Mixability – 8.0

Drunkability – 1.5

Hangover-ability – 10

Bang for the Buck – 9.0

Chick-appeal – 9.0

Overall – 6.5

Like it? Let others know: