Amaro’s Hipness Soars | Amaro, an herbal, bittersweet Italian liqueur, finds its origins in medieval health care. Obsessed with the restorative powers of alchemy and natural botanicals, medieval monks and friars in abbeys across Italy often experimented with mixing and matching liquor and wine with herbs. The monks stuck mostly to ingredients that could be found nearby, ensuring that over the centuries different amari (the plural form of the drink) began taking on regional peculiarities. Bitter orange in Sicily. Rhubarb in Alto Adige. Artichoke in Milan.