Amaro Nonino Quintessentia

Amaro Nonino Quintessentia is a refined, amber Italian amaro made by the Nonino distillery in Percoto, in the north-eastern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Unusually for an amaro, its alcohol base is not neutral spirit but ÙE, the distillery's own barrique-aged grape distillate — a fine, brandy-style spirit from the family that built its name on grappa — infused with a botanical recipe led by bitter gentian root, sweet and bitter orange, saffron and a chorus of herbs and spices, the same blend once carried on grappa before the recipe was reformulated. Bottled at around 35% ABV, it is markedly softer and less punishingly bitter than a Fernet or a Campari — gentle, orange-and-caramel sweet up front with a clean gentian bitterness on the finish. Traditionally sipped neat or over ice as a digestivo, it found a second life on cocktail lists worldwide as the equal-parts backbone of the modern-classic Paper Plane.