Amaro Mio and the Hanky Panky

Amaro Mio is a fernet-type digestif, lighter than Fernet-Branca, but with the same minty, mentholish herbal presence.

The nose is classically medicinal. The first taste is sweet and minty, then progressively more herbal, with some hints of orange. Compared to more notorious digestifs like Campari or Fernet-Branca, the flavor is light, and the aftertaste short. It is sweeter and less mentholish than Fernet-Branca.

Amaro Mio makes a very pleasant version of the Hanky Panky, substituting for Fernet-Branca:

Hanky Panky with Amaro Mio

• 2 oz. gin (Dry Fly)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Dolin)
• ¼ oz. Amaro Mio

Stir over ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange twist.

The result is a bit less idiosyncratic than the Fernet-Branca original, and slightly less minty. The Dry Fly gin mixes well with the Amaro; it has a sweet spiciness of its own, and contributes to the overall complexity of the drink.

Michael Dietsch at A Dash of Bitters provided a gin-based cocktail that includes Amaro Mio for MxMo last May; inspired by the Blackthorn cocktail, he called his the Bitter Wood Cocktail.

“Amaro Mio and the Hanky Panky” at cold-glass.com : All text and photos © 2009 Douglas M. Ford. All rights reserved.