Amaro: it’s a traditional Italian bitter liqueur, made by infusing grape brandy or a neutral spirit with herbs, spices, flowers, citrus peels — you name it. A bit of sweetness rounds it out, then it’s aged. The recipes for amaro speak to both location and tradition. Different flavor profiles historically relied on what grew locally.
Unlike the other amari, Scarlet in the U.S.-Scarlet Masala Amaro uses a hokaku mugi shochu from Tenpai Distillery in Fukuoka as its base. Distilled once on small pot stills from unmalted two row barley, this shochu was made in the traditional style, fermented with 100% barley grown white koji. Using such an expressive spirit for the base of this Masala Amaro builds in new layers of flavor that elevates its diverse botanical make up. A stunning 38 flowers, roots, and botanicals were macerated in this spirit before sweetening with a combination of honey, beet, and refined sugar. Rather than using a classic Italian amaro as inspiration for this release, Moto san traveled to India to source many of the botanicals for this expression, marrying them to classic Japanese ingredients. The result is a focused spirit that connects Indian spices, Japanese shochu craft, and the philosophy of traditional European amari.