I’ve always been a fan of aperitifs and digestifs, favoring those complex herbaceous flavors for both their varied usage in cocktails as well as their effect on your appetite and gut health. This particular summer I’ve been more inclined towards amaro and luckily had the opportunity to try Fast Penny Spirits’ new Amaricano Amaro and Amaricano Amaro Bianca.
Fast Penny Spirits is owned by Seattle native Jamie Hunt. Jamie combined her love for Amaro, her knowledge of the digital landscape, and Sicilian Italian heritage to create an American Amaro that showcased high quality ingredients from the Pacific Northwest region.
Fast Penny Spirits is also a Certified B Corp., promoting sustainable practices and supporting women and communities.
Fast Penny Spirits’ Packaging and Presentation
The Amaricano is a playful take on the word Amari and American. Since Amaro can only be made in Italy, it was wonderful to see the branding take such a clever approach in its name.
The package holding both the original Amaricano and the Amaricano Bianca came in a beautiful and tightly packed box. All materials were recyclable with even the packing material consisting of shredded paper.
The box included two cocktail recipe cards and a larger brochure containing more information about Fast Penny Spirits such as their history and location. There were also several more cocktail recipes in the brochure as well.
The Amaricano
I elected to first try the Amaricano, partially because I prefer to try the most “original” version of things first before trying any variations.
Tasting Notes
The Amaricano is a sweet, full-bodied liqueur. It contains notes of toasted sugar, dark fruit, rounded truffle, vanilla bean, and Mexican chocolate. The original Amaricano is said to work well with bourbon, rye and aged rum, so dark liquors on the sweeter side.
On my trial, the first test of aroma revealed notes of warm orange, vanilla and chocolate. The taste continued those same notes with the addition of slight bitterness and herbal flavors. The chocolate finish was the most abundant to me.
When the brochure stated it is “unapologetically rich and full”, I completely agreed. The body of the liqueur was thick, almost molassy, which I very much enjoyed. I absolutely loved the combination of orange and chocolate. I also found the herbal notes to be minimal and very palatable.
I decided to try the Americano Manhattan, as I knew I had all the ingredients.
Recipe for the Amaricano Manhattan
- 1 oz Amaricano
- 2 oz bourbon or rye whiskey
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- 1 dash aromatic bitters
All the ingredients are stirred over ice, served over a big rock ( giant ice cube ) and garnished with an orange peel or brandied cherry.
I didn’t have the aromatic bitters, orange peel or cherry so I just stirred the Amaricano with Evan Williams bourbon whisky and Angostura orange bitters over ice.
The whole process was incredibly easy and oh so delicious. The midday heat made no difference and I could easily see this taking over most of my summer cocktail selection.
The Amaricano Bianca
Where the original Amaricano has more orange notes, the Amaricano Bianca is veers towards lemon. The Bianca is lighter in color and has more lighter botanical notes of candied lemon, saffron, apricot, chamomile and dandelion.
Tasting Notes
The Bianca I found to definitely be more delicate in nature. The lighter notes of lemon and chamomile almost made me regret trying it second as the strong, toasted sugar from the original Americano easily lingered on my tongue.
Still, the Bianca was beautiful to taste. The notes of light lemon and botanicals presented a “tea-like” experience. The body of the Bianca was light; refreshing even without any ice. While still sweet, the Bianca was less so than its counterpart and offered clear notes of lemon, saffron and gave a mild yet still pleasant grassy finish.
The Bianca was said to pair well with gin, mezcal, vodka and spritzing. I was unable to make the accompanying cocktails listed on the brochure and note cards. However, I made my own mixture based on their guidelines with mezcal and a small amount of seltzer.
The mix was absolutely amazing. I would have never thought to mix mezcal and amaro until viewing Fast Penny Spirits’ suggestions.
The Amaricano Amaro – A Home Bar Essential for the Summer ( and the year…)
The creation of the Amaricano took more than two years, which shows in the approachable smoothness and precise blend of flavors in each liqueur. It is no wonder they have won multiple awards in the past few years including the Gold in the 2021 SF World Spirits Award for Taste and 2021 NY International Spirits Award for WA Liqueur Distillery of the Year.
Fast Penny Spirits is commendable on their efforts in being an actual sustainable brand meeting the criteria to being a Certified B-Corp. Their selection is made from up-cycled, West Coast grape spirits and wild-foraged botanicals. The packaging of their bottles is from recycled glass and uses reclaimed corks. Fast Penny Spirits also contributes 3% of their bottle revenue to non-profits through their Pretty Penny program.
Fast Penny Spirits has created one the tastiest and easiest to pair liqueurs I have tried this year. Delicious on their own, on the rocks and in many mixtures, The Amaricano has definitely been put on my “must keep in stock” home bar list. Extremely indulgent and ethically enjoyable, my only qualm is that I’ll be going through them quite quickly before the summer is up since these spirits are so easy to drink and pair.
To purchase your own bottles of Fast Penny Spirits’ Americano Amaro you can visit their official website. You can also connect with them on Instagram @FastPennySpirits and @AmaricanoAmaro.
