Love Means Saying You're Sarti

Sarti Rosa Is About To Change Your Spritz Life

Casa Sarti has been making traditional Italian liqueurs in Bologna since 1885, but it wasn't until 2022, well after being acquired by Campari in the 1990's, that they released something new. Rosa is a neon-pink aperitivo at 14% ABV built around Sicilian blood orange, tropical mango, and passion fruit. It reads less bitter and more juicy than Aperol, and the standard spritz build is just the same as the familiar Aperol iteration: three parts Sparkling Wine, two parts Sarti Rosa, one part soda, over ice in a wine glass with a fresh lime slice - a classic spritz with a tropical twist that it would seem nobody can resist. 

In the Shop This Week

Sarti Rosa Aperitivo Liqueur Bologna, Italy — 14% ABV. Blood orange from Sicily anchors the flavor; mango and passion fruit round it out into something genuinely tropical. Fruit-forward and low in bitterness, it's aimed squarely at anyone who finds Aperol too medicinal or too one-note. The Sarti Spritz formula (3:2:1 Prosecco, Rosa, soda) is the obvious starting point, but it also works well lengthened with tonic or over ice on its own.   Shop →

Amaro Nepeta Sicily, Italy — founded 2017. Built around nepitella (catmint), an herb native to southeastern Sicily with a flavor somewhere between mint and oregano. The botanical mix also includes Siracusa PGI lemon peels and assorted bitter Sicilian herbs. On the palate it opens fresh and balsamic, then settles into a gentle, lingering citrus bitterness. A regionally specific amaro that earns its shelf space — worth seeking out if you're bored of the usual suspects.   Shop →

Day Trip Peach Amaro Matchbook Distilling, New York. Starts with 1,000 lbs of peaches sourced from Briermere Farm — boiled down to fresh peach juice, then fermented with champagne yeast to an off-dry peach wine. That base is fortified with a distillate of peach leaf and elderflower, then botanical additions of quassia bark, rose petals, and pink peppercorns follow. The result straddles the line between aperitif and amaro: juicy and refreshing up front, with real botanical structure underneath. One of the more interesting domestic aperitifs we've carried.   Shop →

Contratto Aperitif Liqueur Asti, Piedmont, Italy — recipe dating to 1935. Made at the historic Contratto winery just outside Asti using 28 botanicals cold-macerated in neutral spirit. Naturally colored — no artificial dyes. The flavor profile is complex and balanced: bitter and sweet in genuine tension, with vanilla, cardamom, and ginger root woven through. A boutique producer's approach to a category that's become crowded with shortcuts. Holds up as a serious Negroni component or poured long over ice.   Shop →

Mommenpop Limepop Makrut Lime Aperitif California — limited summer release. Built on organic California Makrut limes, which are more aromatic and intensely flavored than standard Persian limes — they're the ones used in Thai and Southeast Asian cooking, and that concentrated citrus character carries through here. Blended with organic Bearss limes, fair-trade vanilla bean, and select botanicals. The result is tangy, bright, and very spritzy-friendly. Add Prosecco and soda; it does the rest. Grab it before the season ends — this one won't be around long.   Shop →

Select Aperitivo Liqueur Venice, Italy — founded 1920, 17.5% ABV. Select predates Aperol in the Venetian spritz conversation — some accounts put it as the original bitter in the formula. Made from 30 botanicals including juniper berries and rhubarb root, with vanilla, cardamom, and ginger adding warmth underneath the bitterness. The flavor is more structured and savory than Aperol, closer to Campari in its backbone. If you want a Venetian Spritz that actually tastes like something, Select is the call.   Shop →

Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto Liqueur Moncalieri, Torino, Italy. A rosolio — an Italian liqueur category that dates to the 15th century, mostly dormant until Italicus revived it. Bergamot from Calabria and cedro from Sicily are extracted using the traditional sfumatura technique, which cold-peels the essential oils rather than pressing or distilling them. Those citrus bases are then blended with neutral spirit and infused with Roman chamomile, lavender, gentian, yellow roses, and melissa balm from Northern Italy. The flavor is floral and citrus-forward with a light bitter finish — works in a spritz but also excellent as a simple pour over ice with a slice of lemon.   Shop →

Ramazzotti Rosato Aperitivo Liqueur Italy. The Ramazzotti house has been making amaro since 1815 in Milan; Rosato is their lighter, more aperitif-focused expression. The color is a soft rosé, and the flavor leans floral — hibiscus and orange blossom are the dominant notes, with less bitterness than either Aperol or the original Ramazzotti amaro. Think of it as Aperol with more floral lift and a slightly drier finish. Easy to use anywhere you'd reach for Aperol, and a good option if your crowd finds standard aperitivi too bitter.   Shop →