Amaro Lucano is an Italian herbal

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, 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-age ...

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

Pisticci Pisticci ( Metapontino: ; ) 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 known for being ...

, Basilicata, Italy. The adjective "Lucano" comes from

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy, corresponding to the modern-day region of Basilicata. 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 ...

, another name for Basilicata.

History

It was 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 (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

, after the Vena family became the official supplier to the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

, 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

'' (hamlet) 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 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 sambuca"). Like other anise-fla ...

limoncello Limoncello () is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in southern Italy, especially in the regions around the Gulf of Naples, the Amalfi Coast, and Sicily. It is the second-most popular liqueur in Italy and is traditionally served chilled as ...

and

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

varieties, as well as liqueur-filled chocolates.

The making of Amaro Lucano

The process of preparing Amaro Lucano is divided into 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'', otherwise known as common wormwood, is a species of '' Artemisia'' native to North Africa and temperate regions of Eurasia, and widely naturalized in Canada and the northern United States. It is grown as an ornamental ...

* Artemisia pontica *

Salvia sclarea ''Salvia sclarea'', the clary or clary sage (clary deriving from Middle English ''clarie'', from Anglo-Norman ''sclaree'', from Late or Medieval Latin '' sclarēia'' meaning ''clear''), is a biennial (short-lived) herbaceous perennial in the g ...

(Clavy Sage) * Musk yarrow *

Cnicus ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding r ...

(Holy Thistle) *

Bitter orange The bitter orange, sour orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the hybrid citrus tree species ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'', and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of th ...

* Gentiana *

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...

* 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. ...

Aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering plant, flowering succulent plant, succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Acc ...

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, biscuits, b ...

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 ...

The infusion

The mixture is steeped in solutions of pure alcohol and water; it then goes through a 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 to obtain an infusion.

The secret

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

extract An extract (essence) 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 or absolutes or dried and powdered. The aromatic principles of ma ...

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 colour, has a bittersweet flavour, and its strength is 28% alc/vol. 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 respectively before and after a meal. Apéritif An apéritif is an alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite, and is usua ...

, 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 i ...

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 ...

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

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 40.4188786, 16.5471315, display=title Italian liqueurs Products introduced in 1894 Italian brands