We modeled this amaro after one we had in Camaldoli, called Laurus 48. Theirs is much better than ours, of course - it's distilled, whereas ours is an infusion - but to be fair, the monks of Camaldoli have been making it the same way for over 1000 years (one reason their label is still in Latin).
We use all the herbs in our garden, plus whole cloves and cinnamon sticks.
Handfuls of herbs:
Sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, mint, oregano, plus 3-4 cinnamon sticks and 10-12 whole cloves.
Submerge the herbs in grain alcohol (yes, it has to be grain, not vodka or gin). Leave it to stew in a cool, dark place for a month or so. The herbs need to be completely covered in alcohol.
After a month, strain the herbs from the alcohol and mix with simple syrup. (Simple syrup is a 50-50 mix of sugar and water). I find that a 50-50 mix of herbed alcohol and simple syrup is the proportion I like. Now you need to leave the liqueur to sit for a week or two. Usually detritus will appear — this will not affect the taste, and if the liqueur is stirred it will just mix in, but I don’t like the look of it so I strain the liqueur multiple times through coffee filters until I have a clear, green liquid. Sometimes this means I have to leave some of the liqueur in the bottom of the pitcher. One large bottle of grain alcohol nets me about 5-6 small bottles of liqueur (each bottle being half the size of a regular wine bottle). I make my own labels (with a cheap little printer) and serve this after meals — it’s a great digestive. It’s also good as an herbal martini (see below).
We also have made versions of this with the same process, but instead of herb bundles, we substitute peaches from our backyard (the resulting liquore we call “Peschelino”), lemon and sage from our backyard (“Salvia e Limone”) or locally grown strawberries (“Fragolino”).
Herbal Martini:
3 parts ice cold vodka
1 part dry vermouth
1 part herbal liqueur
Toss in a shaker with ice, then transfer to a chilled martini glass.
Garnish with lemon peel.
Congratulate yourself on a job well done and watch hair grow on your chest. (Not really, ladies...)
