Amaro

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Over Thanksgiving last year, I began to get very interested in the concept of infusing my own liqueurs. It started because Michael's aunt always makes and brings Lemoncello with her to the extended family's annual Thanksgiving celebration. Michael and I aren't the biggest drinkers, but it's fun to have something here and there, and being able to offer our guests custom made liqueurs or infused drinks sounded like a hobby I wanted to get behind. This made me extra excited to read Amaro by Brad Thomas Parsons.

First off, let me say that the photos in this book are just beautiful. They're rich and make me wish I was sitting down and drinking off of these drinks (even though I would end up very much regretting that. haha)

I love learning the history of different items, and love that Parsons traces the origin of amari beverages in Europe all the way to their slow acceptance by the United States culture in recent years. The book reads richly, full of descriptions that both help you understand the history and concepts while also enabling you to feel Parsons passion for the topic. Books like this are ones I can get behind so quickly!

The book breaks down, in an easy to re-reference fashion, the different types of amaro and all the different variations on that particular type, where those variations are made, and a bit of their history. (This book is definitely for history nerds.) Towards the back of the book, Parsons also breaks down the recipes for a lot of popular amaro cocktails so that we, as the reader, can easily recreate them for ourselves. My favorite section, however, is the one that teaches you how to make some of your own amaros. I'm having trouble deciding which one I want to try to make first!

Overall, this book is a great read for history lovers, food lovers, or people that just want to learn how to make amaro. It's so easily laid out that you can read it like a full book, or you can use it as a recipe book and find the recipe you're searching for with little effort. If you fall into any of those categories, you should definitely look in to this book and then we can be amaro making buddies!

Have you ever made your own liqueur? Any suggestions on which one I should try first?