What to eat with amaretto. We make our own Amaretto - almond liqueur

To understand how to drink amaretto, you need to know a little about its history. In the early nineties of the last century, a delicious foreign liqueur appeared in Russia. It became a favorite drink for many, because the taste was not quite familiar, extraordinary, and with excellent quality, it immediately won the trust of many citizens. Amaretto has become the leader among alcoholic drinks served on the festive table. They drink this drink in a special way; sometimes it is included as the main component in various cocktails.

Amaretto– this liqueur, which came from Italy, has a taste with shades of distinct bitterness and an almond aroma. The drink is quite strong (about 30°). Amaretto consists of several components, such as almonds (replaced with apricot kernels), grape alcohol, spices, herbs and, of course, vanilla. The city of Saronno is the birthplace of real Amaretto, where the production of this drink is still actively developing. The city of Saronno is located in the Italian province of Lombardy.

The Italian word “amaro” translates as “slightly bitter,” hence the name of this drink. A name that fully characterizes the drink, its properties and taste. The uniqueness of the drink does not end there. Amaretto is always bottled and sealed with square caps. This idea - to make the cork of the bottle of this drink original - came to the minds of glassblowers living on the island of Murano. Many try to explain why this particular shape began to decorate a bottle of liqueur. There is even a legend spreading about this, which says that thanks to such a stopper, your favorite drink will be easy to find even in the darkest room.

There is another story that explains why Amaretto was born. This story is connected with the Renaissance artist Bernardino Luini, who by the way studied with Leonardo da Vinci. When Luini first visited Saronno to create a fresco at the request of the abbots of the local monastery, he asked a widow of amazing beauty to help him create the image of the Madonna. The work lasted more than one day, and the couple fell madly in love with each other. Unfortunately, the time has come for Luini to leave Saronno; the girl in love decided to give him a drink as a souvenir, which was made from apricot kernels, grape brandy and various spices. This is a story that Italians readily believe in, which is why for a long time the face of a smiling beautiful woman was depicted on the label. The only thing that is not clear in this story is why the Italian Disaronno family claims full authorship of this drink. How he got this recipe remains a mystery. Homemade Amaretto is easy to prepare and does not involve any difficulties.

There are different ways to drink amaretto

In its purest form

This is a common way to consume Amaretto, which is especially appreciated by true gourmets and admirers of the drink. Shot glasses with a volume of 60 to 100 ml are suitable for serving liqueur. Use liqueur at room temperature. They drink slowly, in very small sips, so that they can enjoy every small dose. Fruit, cheese, dessert or ice cream are served as a snack. Many people prefer to take Amaretto with ice, although this method cannot be called perfect, since the ice during the melting process has a distorted effect on the taste of the product. Cold liqueur will not reveal the delicious aroma of the drink. If Amaretto is served with ice, it is only in cases where it serves as a digestif.

Mixing with other drinks

Orange and cherry juices are best suited for this purpose. Amaretto is diluted with juice in an equal ratio (1:1). This drink has a low strength and is perfectly refreshing.

Amaretto is a very popular and tasty liqueur. It is added to coffee, tea, it goes well in cocktails, and goes well with fruits and sweets. What modern chefs haven’t come up with based on it.

The drink has an ancient complex recipe that originated in the city of Saronno more than 500 years ago. The liqueur has a dark brown color and a strength of 21–28˚. It is made from apricot kernels, almonds and spices. It tastes like marzipan, with a slight bitterness. Liquor is stored in square bottles with a cap of the same shape. According to legend, this is so that a person can always find his favorite treat even in the dark.

Properties

Liquor improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, helps with hypertension, lack of hemoglobin, reduces the amount of cholesterol, and removes salts from the body.

One of the main ingredients is almonds, which help preserve antioxidants in the body, but can cause severe allergies, dizziness, nausea (if in large quantities); unripe almonds should not be consumed.

The liqueur itself, be it the original drink or homemade Amaretto, is alcoholic and therefore should not be given to children and pregnant women, and excessive consumption should also be avoided.

Classic recipe

Amaretto can be prepared at home only by knowing the proportions, ingredients and processing methods. It does not require rare, difficult to obtain products or impossible technologies, but you will have to make an effort, or even better, a piece of your soul, to make the drink very tasty.

Ingredients for liqueur:

• half a liter of moonshine, vodka;
• 50 g apricot kernels;
• 50 g almonds;
• 1/3 glass of water;
• 350 g sugar;
• 2 tsp. vanilla;
• a handful of cinnamon;
• 3 g instant coffee;
• 2 clove buds;
• 3-4 peas of allspice.

Step-by-step algorithm of actions:

1. Soak the nuts for 5–6 minutes in hot water and peel.
2. Toast in a dry frying pan until golden brown. In 1–2 minutes. add cloves and pepper until the end of frying.
3. Caramel syrup: add sugar and water (50 ml), heat until brownish. Then add vanilla, remaining water and stir.
4. Place previously peeled and washed almonds, apricot kernels, and cinnamon into a common container. Pour hot caramel syrup over.
5. When the liquid has cooled, add coffee and alcohol.
6. Close everything tightly, shake, and place in a dark place for a month (30–35 days). 3-4 times a week, it is recommended to shake the tincture.
7. Filter and bottle.

Liquor can be stored for several years, the main thing is that the place is dark and cool.

It should be noted that you will have to collect apricot kernels for the drink yourself, because there are almost none in stores. They also recommend using brown sugar instead of regular sugar.

Complex "richer" recipe

The next Amaretto recipe is more complex, but will taste even better.

Ingredients:

• 750 ml homemade vodka;
• a glass of cognac or brandy;
• 1/4 cup each of apricot kernels, unroasted almonds, anise;
• 3 table. l fennel seeds;
• 5 pieces of cherries, boned;
• 1/4 cup each chopped peach or apricot, chopped dried apricots;
• 2 tsp. chopped mint leaves;
• a couple of black peppercorns;
• a couple of carnations;
• allspice pea;
• half a glass of water;
• 0.5 cm cinnamon (finely chopped);
• vanilla extract;
• sugar – 350 g, water – 150 ml.

Preparation:

First stage:

1. Soak dried apricots in 0.5 tbsp. water (3-4 hours), you need the berries to swell.
2. Cut the peaches into pieces and soak with dried apricots and berries. Pour 375 ml of vodka and all the cognac.
3. Chop spices, nuts, apricot kernels and fennel, mint. Put everything in one container and put it in the closet.
4. Leave for 4 weeks, shaking occasionally. In the middle of the term, crush the fruit. Remaining 4–5 days. do not pull.
5. When the sediment has separated, carefully drain the tincture and filter.

Second phase:

1. Prepare the caramelized sweet syrup that you made for the classic recipe.
2. Plus equal parts simple syrup, water and sugar.
3. Mix the ingredients: 3 parts tincture, 3 parts vodka; 2 tsp sugar syrup; 1 hour caramel liquid, one third vanilla extract.
4. Let it sit for 3-4 days, drain the sediment, and filter thoroughly.

Bird cherry infusion

You can try making Amaretto from bird cherry or cherry; the taste of the final result can be changed using the spices of the first recipes. Here is one version of this liqueur:

Ingredients:

• half a liter of vodka;
• bird cherry berries - 2-3 tbsp. l.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Mix everything in one container, close it tightly and put it in a closet or basement for a month.
2. After the expiration date, strain thoroughly.

Cherry infusion

You can also prepare cherry infusion. You don't need a lot of ingredients:

• liter of homemade vodka;
• 100 g cherry pits;
• sugar syrup – 400 g;
• vanilla 1 sachet.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Caramelize a couple of spoons of sugar, place it in the sugar syrup and mix well.
2. Chop the seed kernels, but not too finely. Goal: crush the shell.
3. Pour into a glass container and fill with vodka. Cork.
4. Leave for a couple of hours, pour in sweet syrup, add vanilla.
5. Mix everything, close it tightly and put it in the cupboard.
6. After 7-10 days, filter and bottle.

All presented types of Amaretto are ready for use at home. You can serve them in a traditional square bottle, or try making some interesting cocktails, there are many recipes for them. You can't imagine a more versatile drink than this.

Conclusion

The liqueur can be drunk neat with ice. It goes well with coffee, tea, chocolate, milkshake. It also adds a cherry flavor to the popular Coca-Cola drink. It is consumed in combination with alcoholic drinks. Such as Baileys, rum, tequila, champagne, brandy, whiskey, etc. What’s even more surprising is that the liqueur is combined with orange and cherry juices.

Also, this drink will be useful to any good housewife. It is added to dough and baked goods to give it a beautiful, rosy hue.

One of the very first drinks brought to Russia from abroad was Amaretto liqueur. It first came to our country in the 90s and was significantly different in quality from other alcoholic beverages.

What kind of drink?

What is Amaretto liqueur? It is a dark brown drink that smells of almonds and has a slightly bitter taste. It contains: grape alcohol, spices, almonds and vanilla.

Why was he called that?

Where do you think such an interesting name - "Amaretto" - came from? From the word “amaro”, which means “bitter” in Italian. We can say that this characteristic of the drink is the most accurate and indicates its essence.

This drink has one more feature - it is a bottle with a square cap. You can quickly recognize Amaretto liqueur from it. There is even a legend that the shape of the bottle was invented so that the drinker could find his favorite liqueur even in the dark.

Amaretto liqueur. What to drink this drink with?

True connoisseurs often like to drink it in its pure form. To do this, the liqueur must be at room temperature, and it is served in 60 or 100 ml glasses. The drink is drunk slowly, in small sips.

For a snack, go for ice cream, cheese, dessert or fruit. In some cases, Amaretto is mixed with ice. In this case, the drink is served as a digestif.

If you want to make a cocktail, then cherry and orange juices will help you with this. This drink can be diluted with juice one to one, so you get an excellent refreshing drink that has a low strength.

Cocktails

In nightclubs, bartenders often mix Amaretto liqueur with Coca-Cola in a ratio of one to two. This option is often loved by young people, especially girls, since it produces a sweet, low-alcohol mix. This drink can also be added to coffee, hot chocolate and even tea. This way you will get a warming drink that will have an unusual almond flavor.

"Hot Gold"

Now we will look at cocktail recipes using Amaretto liqueur. So, let's start with the Hot Gold cocktail. In order to prepare it, you will need:

• 150 ml orange juice;
• one quarter lemon;
• orange slice;
• 50 ml Amaretto liqueur.

Cooking process

In a saucepan, you need to mix the liqueur with orange juice, and then squeeze in the lemon juice. The finished mixture is heated over low heat until it begins to boil. After this, the contents from the saucepan need to be poured into a strong glass for hot drinks or a cup. The cocktail is decorated with an orange slice and served with dried apricots or prunes.

"Rosé with cherry"

There is another interesting option, it is called “Rosé with Cherry”. To prepare this cocktail you will need:

• 50 ml rose vermouth;
• 10 ml Amaretto liqueur;
• 200 grams of ice (cubes);
• cherry juice (150 ml).

Cooking

Fill a tall glass with ice cubes, and then add juice, vermouth and liqueur. All contents must be mixed well. Then you should garnish with a special cocktail cherry.

Making liqueur at home

We looked at how interesting cocktails are made, now we will describe how to properly prepare Amaretto liqueur at home. The recipe is simple and will take you no more than half an hour to prepare. To do this you will need:

Preparation

1. First, mix plain sugar, brown sugar and water. Then you should heat the mixture over low heat.
2. The contents should simmer until the sugar begins to dissolve.
3. Then you should remove the mixture from the heat and wait until it cools down (usually this takes about 10 minutes).
4. You need to pour vanilla and almond extract into the bottle. Then you need to mix thoroughly. The contents must be stored in a sealed bottle.

Amaretto liqueur: price

If you do not make liqueur at home yourself, then you will be interested to know the cost of this drink. For a half-liter bottle you will need to pay 850 rubles or more. If the container capacity is 700 ml, then the cost of the drink will be on average 1,200 rubles, and a liter will cost you up to 2,000 rubles. If someone offers you to buy this drink cheaper, do not agree, because it may be a fake. Liquor prices are not very high, so it is best to buy it in specialized stores.

This drink can be given as a gift, since there is a large selection of interesting packaging options. Perhaps, in a male company, Amaretto liqueur will not bring much joy. But lovely ladies will be able to taste this drink with great pleasure, especially if it is a component of some kind of cocktail, although the liqueur in its pure form is also not bad.

Conclusion

Now you know what Amaretto liqueur is and what to drink it with, we also looked at it. They even described how the liqueur itself is prepared. Taste and enjoy!

Amaretto is a thick, sweet liqueur with bitter almond notes, which gives it its name, which translates from Italian as “slightly bitter.” A beautiful legend is associated with it, according to which Leonardo da Vinci’s student Bernardino Luini, while working on a fresco, fell in love with his model, who, when parting, gave him a drink, sweet as their romance and bitter as their separation. If you believe historical data, the author of the recipe is one of the representatives of the Disaronno family, who invented it in 1525. Today on sale you can find various brands of amaretto liqueur, the strength of which ranges from 21 to 30 degrees. The liqueur is based on grape alcohol infused with almonds or apricot kernels. The composition includes sugar, water, vanilla and herbal extracts, but the exact recipe of the drink is usually not disclosed, so amaretto from different manufacturers may not have exactly the same bouquet. Having become the owner of a bottle of the legendary liqueur, you will probably want to know how to drink amaretto in order to fully enjoy its taste.

Rules of use

Amaretto is a rather sweet liqueur, it follows the rules for drinking this type of drink.

• Amaretto is preferably served as a digestif after the main meal. Can be used as an aperitif or as a stand-alone drink that is drunk without reference to food. However, it is not customary to serve it for lunch or dinner.
• It is recommended to drink amaretto liqueur from drop-shaped glasses with a capacity of 30 to 60 ml. It is acceptable to use regular liqueur glasses of the same size.
• The optimal temperature for drinking amaretto is room temperature; it is at this temperature that the almond aroma of the liqueur and its bitter aftertaste are best felt.
• In Italy, the homeland of amaretto, they prefer to drink it in its pure form. It is not considered bad manners to dilute liquor with a small amount of clean water or ice. However, ice distorts the taste of the drink, preventing you from fully experiencing its rich bouquet and multifaceted taste. A better idea would be to dilute the liqueur with juice; most often, cherry or orange is used for this. Americans dilute amaretto with Coca-Cola in a 1:2 ratio.
• Coffee with amaretto turns out delicious: add 1-2 teaspoons of liqueur to a cup of hot drink. Tea is prepared with it in the same way.

Cocktails containing amaretto are very popular all over the world.

How to snack on amaretto

It is customary to offer various desserts as an appetizer for amaretto. It goes well with ice cream and soufflé. You can offer it biscuits, cookies, chocolate.

For savory appetizers, cheese is served with amaretto.

Cocktail “Hot Gold”

• amaretto liqueur – 50 ml;
• orange juice – 150 ml;
• lemon – 1/4 pcs.;
• orange – 1 slice;
• prunes – 1 pc.;
• dried apricots – 1 pc.

Cooking method:

• Pour liqueur and orange juice into a small saucepan.
• Squeeze the juice from a quarter of a lemon into the saucepan.
• Place the pan over low heat or a water bath. Preheat to a temperature of 60–70 degrees. Do not let the drink boil.
• Pour the cocktail into an Irish glass and garnish with an orange slice.

The cocktail is served hot. Dried fruits are served on a separate plate.

Cocktail "Rosé" with cherries

• pink vermouth – 50 ml;
• amaretto liqueur – 10 ml;
• cherry juice – 150 ml;
• cocktail cherry – 1 pc.;
• ice cubes – 0.2 kg.

Cooking method:

• Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.
• Shake vermouth and liqueur in a shaker and pour into a glass.
• Add cherry juice.
• Mix the cocktail components with a special spoon or straw.
• Decorate with cherries.

This cocktail belongs to the long drink category and is served with a straw. The drink is very refreshing, easy to drink, and has a pleasant color.

Cocktail “The Godfather”

• whiskey – 45 ml;
• amaretto liqueur – 20 ml;
• cubed ice – 100 g.

Cooking method:

• Mix whiskey and liqueur well. It is convenient to do this using a shaker.
• Fill a whiskey glass or regular wide glass with ice.
• Pour in the prepared mixture of liqueur and whiskey.

The “Godmother” cocktail is prepared in a similar way, only the whiskey is replaced with vodka.

Cocktail "Ricky"

• amaretto liqueur – 50 ml;
• ginger ale – 120 ml;
• Angostura bitters – 1–2 drops;
• orange – 1 slice;
• cocktail cherry – 1 pc.;
• ice cubes - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.
• Pour in the liqueur.
• Add ginger ale (or ginger beer).
• Add a drop of bitters.
• Stir with a straw.
• Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.

Ginger ale can be replaced with ginger lemonade. This replacement will affect the taste of the finished cocktail, but not significantly.

Cocktail "Burning Henry"

• amaretto liqueur – 15 ml;
• Baileys liqueur – 15 ml;
• whiskey – 15 ml.

Cooking method:

• Pour amaretto into a small, tall, thick-bottomed glass (shot).
• Use a bar spoon to add the next layer of cream liqueur.
• Just as carefully, without allowing the drinks to mix, pour in the whiskey.

Drink a cocktail prepared according to this recipe in one gulp.

Cocktail “Effervescent Flirtation”

• dry champagne – 100 ml;
• amaretto liqueur – 30 ml;
• orange juice – 20 ml.

Cooking method:

• Mix orange juice with liqueur using a shaker.
• Pour the mixture into a champagne glass.
• Slowly pour in the champagne and stir gently.

The drink is liked by the fair sex. When serving, the glass can be decorated with a spiral of orange zest.

Cocktail “Hot Island”

• amaretto liqueur – 50 ml;
• cognac – 20 ml;
• black coffee – 0.2 l;
• cream – 30 ml.

Cooking method:

• Brew black coffee as strong as you like. Strain. You can add a little sugar.
• Add liqueur and cognac to the coffee and stir.
• Pour in the cream, stir again.
• Pour the cocktail into an Irish glass.

The cocktail is served warm. You can decorate it with chocolate chips.

Cocktail “Don Giovanni”

• chocolate liqueur – 30 ml;
• amaretto liqueur – 10 ml;
• whipped cream - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Mix both types of liqueur in a shaker and pour into a cocktail glass.
• Garnish with whipped cream.

Almond notes will give the chocolate liqueur a unique taste, and whipped cream will make the cocktail tender and soft.

Amaretto liqueur, which has almond notes and a bitter aftertaste, is often used to make cocktails. True connoisseurs of this drink drink it in its pure form.

By the end of the last century, Amaretto was one of the most popular alcoholic drinks on store shelves in Russia. It was one of the first foreign liqueurs to have a pleasant almond flavor. Time passed, and the range of alcoholic drinks increased. Today, the wide variety of these has led to the fact that Amaretto has practically disappeared from storefronts and, as a result, from sale. The only way to remember the past is only if you prepare Amaretto at home.

History of Amaretto liqueur

People first started talking about this liqueur in 1525 in an Italian region called Saronno. In fact, Amaretto is a dark brown dessert liqueur of 21-28 strength, made from almonds, apricot kernels and a special set of spices. The aftertaste of real Amaretto is reminiscent of marzipan.

Today Amaretto is one of the most delicious types of dessert liqueur, which true gourmets drink with ice or mix with hot tea and coffee. As an alcoholic dessert, Amaretto goes perfectly with all types of fruits, chocolates, nuts, and ice cream. Other types of snacks dull the aftertaste and prevent you from fully enjoying the drink.

How to make Amaretto at home?

Thanks to the use of available ingredients and the simplicity of the preparation process, anyone can recreate Amaretto liqueur at home. Exact adherence to production technology during the preparation of the drink is the key to success for a dessert whose taste is almost identical to the original.

Homemade bird cherry amaretto

Cooking variation No. 1

This is a very simple recipe for bird cherry Amaretto at home that even the laziest person can implement.
Compound:
0.5 l. vodka
2-3 tbsp. bird cherry berries

Preparation
1. Mix all ingredients in a previously washed and dried jar.
2. Seal the resulting mixture and send it to a dark place to infuse for at least a month.
3. After the time has passed, strain the resulting liquid through several layers of gauze.
At this stage, the drink is ready for consumption.

2nd recipe for Amaretto from bird cherry at home

The dessert includes:
Bird cherry berries – 1 tbsp.;
Water – 1 tbsp.;
Granulated sugar - 1 tbsp.;
Vodka – 0.5 l.

Cooking process
1. Preparation of the drink begins by mixing vodka with water.
2. Then granulated sugar is added to the resulting liquid and stirred until completely dissolved.
3. Place bird cherry berries in a pre-washed and dried jar and fill them with liquid.
4. Place the jar in a dark place to infuse. Aging time for liqueur: from fresh berries – 1 month, from dried – 3 months.
5. Now pour the almost finished cherry Amaretto at home into another jar.
6. Based on one bottle of vodka consumed, you need to cook sugar syrup from 0.5 liters of water and 1 tbsp. Sahara.
7. Sugar syrup is combined with pre-infused berries while the liquid cools.
8. Pass the syrup through cheesecloth and combine the resulting liquid with the filtered tincture. The resulting liquid is sent to brew in a dark place for a month.

It should be noted that in both recipes the principle applies: the more the drink is infused, the more pleasant it is.

Classic Amaretto recipe

The liqueur contains:
· 0.5 liters of vodka;
· 50 gr. apricot kernels;
· 50 gr. almonds;
· 150 ml. water;
· 350 gr. Sahara;
· 2 tsp. vanilla sugar;
· 1 pinch of ground cinnamon;
· 3 gr. instant coffee;
· 2 buds of cloves;
· 3-4 peas of allspice.

The only difficult-to-purchase ingredient on the entire list is apricot kernels. This delicacy is extremely rare in stores, so to prepare the delicacy you may have to extract it from apricot kernels yourself. Due to the periodic failure of the apricot harvest, most recipes for Amaretto at home from apricots do not contain the kernels themselves. This turn of events does not go unnoticed, since the taste of the finished drink does not have the required richness and is strikingly different from the original.

Cooking process
1. First of all, to prepare the drink, you need to pour boiling water over the almonds and leave to brew for 3-5 minutes, then peel them.
2. Dry the peeled almonds in a frying pan until slightly golden brown, adding cloves and pepper and frying for another 1-2 minutes.
3. Rinse apricot kernels under running water. Then mix them with cinnamon.
4. Mix the prepared almonds and apricot kernels in a pre-washed and dried glass jar.
5. Prepare sugar syrup. The sugar syrup is prepared in a non-stick frying pan. Mix sugar and 50 ml of water in a frying pan. Stirring constantly, heat the mixture to a caramel color. Then add vanilla sugar and 100 ml of water to the resulting liquid.
6. Pour the prepared syrup over the almonds and kernels.
7. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature on its own, add vodka and coffee to the jar.
8. Having corked the bottle as tightly as possible, shake it several times and place it in a dark place to infuse for approximately 30-35 days. During this time, for the most pleasant taste, it is recommended to repeat shaking every 3rd day.
9. Pass the prepared alcoholic dessert through a thick cloth and pour into decanters.

It should be noted that storing this wonderful drink in a dark and cool place can last for several years. However, due to its taste, this simply does not happen.