Distillerie Capitoline N'Amaro
Producer: Distillerie Capitoline
Region: Rome, Lazio, taly
Materials: Grain, Licorice Root, Anise, Bergamot, Myrtle, and Elderberry
Viticulture: Organic
Category: Spirits, Digestif
Size: 700ml
The tiny-but-mighty Distillerie Capitoline was founded in 2018 by a group of four cocktail, spirits, and natural wine enthusiasts, native Romans all, who were curious about what it might be like to produce traditional, natural Italian spirits with a particularly Roman bent. The lead on the project is a longtime chef of the city, Emiliano Valenti, whose palate and inspiration are “guided in alchemy” by the biologists Antonio Valentini and Francesco Peruzzi, all assisted by the entrepreneur Alessandro De Filippo. Their philosophy: “capture the excitement, scents and flavors of contemporary Rome.”
The liquorifico, as it’s called, is a tiny space in southeastern Rome—it looks like a tiny dive bar, with a number of small steel tanks and tiny barrels tucked behind the counter, and only two high-top tables for those who want a totally delicious local gin & tonic in sitù. All of the products that are used in these spirits are completely organic and natural—no preservatives (not even SO2), no colorants, no chemicals, niente. As such, these products are living; they’re closer to natural wine than they are the massive production styles and scales of Montenegro or Cocchi rosso. They change in the bottle with time and oxygen; chef Emiliano says he thinks all of the liqueurs are best after around six months in bottle.
Capitoline collaborates with various small natural wineries in Lazio and Toscana; they’ve long-term partnerships for fruits and crops like Sorrento lemons, the afore-mentioned Amarena cherries, elderberries, flowers, on and on. Botanicals are infused whole—there are no extracts, powders, or pre-made tinctures.
N'Amaro is just what it sounds like -- an amaro named in Roman dialect for the way of saying, 'This is an amaro.' To make this bitter digestif, many botanicals are infused into neutral grain spirit, specifically licorice root, anise, bergamot, myrtle, and elderberry, among others. To this infusion is added a homemade lemon syrup, (made from crushed Sorrento lemons, water, and elderberry), a touch more of the NSG, and local Roman water. These are all blended in to find the right mix of concentration, bitterness, and a touch of acidity and sweetness. There is a light filtration done after blending, then the liqueur is bottled. No fining; zero SO2 or preservatives added. If you like Amaro Sibilla from Varnelli or Cynar--but don't want the fake colors or crazy amounts of sugar--this fully natural Roman amaro is for you.