Amaro (plural amari) is a family of bittersweet Italian liqueurs made by macerating herbs, roots, flowers, and citrus peel in a neutral spirit, then sweetening the result with sugar or honey.
The name means "bitter" in Italian, and amari trace back to herbal tonics developed in monasteries across Italy, with each region eventually developing its own recipe and botanical blend; common ingredients include gentian root, cinchona bark, and cardamom. Styles range from lightly bitter and citrusy, like Aperol, to intensely bitter, like Fernet-Branca. Amari are traditionally sipped neat or on ice as a digestif after a meal, and are essential to classic Italian cocktails such as the Negroni and Boulevardier; they pair well with rich, fatty foods like aged cheese, cured meat, and chocolate. Not every bittersweet herbal liqueur is an amaro, though: France's Bénédictine, for instance, belongs to its own separate tradition of monastic herbal liqueurs.