This Thursday, celebrate the “holiday” established in honor of the almond-flavored Italian liqueur, Amaretto. If you have never tasted Amaretto, National Amaretto Day, celebrated on April 19, would be the perfect day to do so.
Amaretto is enjoyed either in cocktails, on the rocks or neat. Believe it or not, this almond-flavored liqueur derives from apricot kernel oil and burnt sugar. Obviously, that doesn’t sound very appealing, but once it was enhanced by sweet almonds or sweetener, and spice, the liqueur was quite nice. Amaretto itself isn’t bitter, but sometimes emits a bitter aftertaste, so the liqueur was named Amaretto, which translates into “slightly bitter.”
This article appears in Apr 12-18, 2012.