When walking into Bar Americano in Brooklyn, New York’s Greenpoint neighborhood, the back bar is striking, not just for its posh style, but for what sits on its shelves. There isn’t the usual array of whiskies, gins, Tequila, and rums; rather, it’s chock full of various red liqueurs, ranging from deep ruby red to strawberry to more blood orange hues. There are some recognizable names—Campari, Aperol, Montenegro—but because Bar Americano is an Italian bitters bar, there are scores more insignia that probably aren’t familiar to the everyday Negroni drinker. But bars like this aren’t such a minority anymore—they’re popping up across the country, showcasing the snowballing enthusiasm for Italian aperitivo culture. 

Such a love affair with aperitivo culture has propelled bitter liqueur brands forward in a big way. That said, the current supremacy of Campari, Aperol, and their competitors is nothing new—the resurgence of Italian bitters first kicked off in the mid-2010s. Of course, growth is even more earnest now than it was then, as the Negroni, the Spritz, and variations on both remain the ringleaders of the bitter liqueur renaissance. There seems to be a long runway for continued growth ahead, too, as brands find new ways to innovate on both cocktails and the liqueurs themselves.

Keeping It Fresh

Within the wide world of Italian bitters, two names are ubiquitous: Campari and Aperol. “Those brands are king of the hill,” says Chris McNeal, liquor manager at Colorado retailer Molly’s Spirits. “In my experience, when someone comes in for their bitter liqueur of choice [which tend to be one of those popular labels], there’s no point in trying to talk them out of it, either.” 

Campari ($30 a 750-ml.) got its start in Novara, Italy in 1860, and now has the distinction of being one of the most prolific bitter liqueurs in the market, a title it should have no trouble keeping for the foreseeable future. Campari’s growth has been ongoing since 2010, when it was at just 50,000 cases in the U.S., according to Impact Databank. By 2015, the brand had doubled in size, hitting 103,000 cases; last year, volume had more than doubled once again, with the liqueur coming in at 227,000 cases. Aside from the brand’s reigning popularity and recognizability factor, Campari has made major marketing pushes at events like the Coachella music festival to continue getting in front of consumers of all ages, according to Campari head of marketing Andrea Sengara.

Not to be outdone, Aperol ($22 a 750-ml.)—which Campari’s parent company, Campari Group, purchased in 2003—has flown off shelves in recent years, and is in fact even more of a presence in the U.S. than Campari, despite starting from a smaller base. As with Campari, a cocktail has encouraged the brand’s rapid growth from just 9,000 cases back in 2010 to 390,000 cases last year. “Aperol launched the entire category of the Spritz—even if it’s a competitor, I have to give credit where credit is due,” says Fabio Raffaelli, North American brand ambassador for Martini & Rossi and a mixologist in his own right. Indeed, the Aperol Spritz and Spritz variants are now just as omnipresent as the Negroni, a fact that prompted Martini & Rossi to jump into the fray with Fiero, a Spritz-ready liqueur of its own, in 2019.

While Martini & Rossi has been around since 1863, the company has eyed bitter liqueurs more closely in recent years. Fiero is a blend of white wines and botanicals, including Murcia orange peel and artemisia absinthium. Raffaelli says the bitter liqueur is now the primary growth driver of the company, and that a twist on the Spritz was top of mind when creating it. “The classic Spritz is one bitter component, one sparkling wine component, plus a splash of soda,” he explains. “In our case, we created a new way to Spritz, which includes just a bitter component—Fiero—and tonic water. The bitter is extremely bitter, and the sweetness of the tonic is a fantastic balance, especially for people who are newer to these types of drinks.” 

In 2017, Martini added Riserva Speciale to its portfolio. The bitter liqueur is led by three rare botanicals—saffron, angostura, and columba—and it spends time aging in Piedmontese Vermentino casks. Raffaelli notes that while many volume-driven bitter liqueurs fall at $9 to $13 a bottle, more brands are eyeing higher end expressions. “All companies are trying to have a premium product because top cocktail bars are requesting it of us,” he says. For its part, Riserva Speciale is $30 a 750-ml.

Luxardo is another heavyweight competitor in the bitter liqueur space, offering up three separate SKUs. First made in 1885, Luxardo Bitter Rosso ($28 a 750-ml.) is the most bitter of the three liqueurs, with rhubarb, sweet and bitter oranges, mint, marjoram, and thyme counted among its ingredients. The company’s other two bitter liqueurs, Bitter Bianco ($28) and Aperitivo ($24), are more recent additions, with the former joining the lineup in 2016. “Bitter Bianco is a fully distilled product versus an infusion, and it’s aged in bitter wormwood to really infuse that bitterness into the product,” says Luxardo brand manager Clayton Danielson. “One of the core attributes is the color—we can get bitterness into cocktails without making them a vibrant red—but also its flavor, which is delicate and more nuanced.” He points to Bianco’s more floral and herbaceous notes, as well as a prominent zing of grapefruit zest, as key flavor differentiators. Launched in 2013, Aperitivo is a more traditional bitter liqueur, having bitter orange flavors that are balanced by a notable sweetness. 

Not to be outdone by its fellow old school Italian labels, Galliano joined the bitter liqueur mix in 2017 with L’Aperitivo ($25 a 375-ml.). While it’s certainly a bitter liqueur, Galliano global brand manager Tanya Cohn notes that the company focused on making it palatable for American consumers by taming the final bitterness down. “The collection of citruses we use in the L’Aperitivo recipe make it fresher, and therefore a bit more palatable to the general U.S. consumer,” says Cohn. While she knows the category is well saturated at this point, she says L’Aperitivo leans into citrus notes—there’s a long list of northern Italian citrus in its 50-plus-ingredient formula—to distinguish it from other labels.

Craft Incoming

While big name brands dominate the bitter liqueur category, smaller brands are making in-roads. California-based St. George Spirits introduced its own spin on an Italian bitter liqueur in 2016 with Bruto Americano ($37 a 750-ml.). “The goal with Bruto was to approach building a red bitter inspired by the terroir of northern California, where master distiller Lance Winters grew up,” says head distiller Dave Smith. “While we don’t disclose all of its ingredients, the cascara sagrada balsam fir gives it a ‘sandalwood incense in a mountain cabin’ kind of vibe that’s as distinct as it is delicious.” St. George doesn’t share volume, but Smith says production of Bruto Americano has ramped up considerably year-over-year. 

At retail, too, craft bitter liqueurs are making some waves, even if they’re on the smaller side. “We’ve seen a large influx of craft bitter liqueurs, and that continues to grow,” says Chad Gibson, wine marketing and sales specialist for the New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC). “It’s hard to quantify how many people are reaching for these craft brands, but customers are curious and like to try new products, and at-home cocktail-making has only helped these craft liqueurs find new excited customers.” The NHLC stocks 29 bitter liqueurs, with Campari, Aperol, Fernet-Branca, Amaro Montenegro, Amaro Nonino Quintessentia, and Averna Amaro counted as the stores’ top sellers. Gibson says that while the majority of the bitters brands come from Italy, more offerings inspired by the style are coming from other areas. A couple new bitter liqueurs are submitted to the NHLC monthly for stock consideration.

In Brooklyn, New York, St. Agrestis operates almost exclusively in the bitter liqueur space. The distiller started with an amaro, but has innovated considerably in recent years—its portfolio now includes Inferno Bitter ($37 a 750-ml.), a classic take on an Italian bitter red liqueur; Paradiso ($37), a wine-based, Aperol alternative; and a bevy of bitters-based RTDs ($24 a 4-pack of 100-ml. bottles), among them a Negroni, Manhattan, and Spritz. 

For Inferno and Paradiso, cocktail culture is, unsurprisingly, key to momentum. “Paradiso is designed to work in Spritzes, but because it’s wine-based it has this fresh fruit quality that you just can’t get from a spirits-based aperitivo,” says co-owner Louie Catizone. “So it’s really fun on its own, and it’s versatile beyond the Spritz to the point where I’ve seen it used in a Margarita variation, and a summertime-friendly Manhattan.” Inferno is a better fit for a Negroni and any variations on it, according to Catizone, and has done especially well at bars and restaurants since pandemic restrictions eased. “We’re seeing a lot more folks in the on-premise put Inferno in their well as opposed to Campari, especially as a second wave of more interesting Negroni variations starts to settle in,” he says.

Low- Or No-Alcohol

Even as St. Agrestis sees gains for its bitter liqueurs, Catizone says the brunt of the distillery’s growth is currently coming from a somewhat unexpected source: its non-alcoholic Phony Negroni. “We’re producing volumes that we just didn’t think St. Agrestis would be capable of independently,” he remarks. “Part of that is we’re getting so much traction on-premise with the Phony Negroni, and then a lot of people are either drinking less or not drinking at all.” 

However, St. Agrestis is far from the only producer exploring non-alcoholic alternatives for its bitter liqueurs. Martini just launched two non-alcoholic bitter aperitivos, Floreale and Vibrante (both 20$ a 750-ml.), nationwide. “The non-alcoholic section of aperitivo, of bitter liqueurs, is on fire right now,” says Raffaelli. “That section of the category is the biggest right now, not in terms of number, but growth. It’s just touching $1 billion, but the forecast is that by 2026 it’s going to be closer to a $3 billion business, and we attribute this to the pandemic—people were drinking much more, and now they want the taste but not the effects.” He adds that these non-alcoholic SKUs will take focus for the company over the next fiscal year.

Part of the huge appeal for aperitivo culture is the lower-abv side of it as well, with many consumers opting for less boozy drinks on a day-to-day basis. While the Negroni isn’t quite in line with this school of thought, its immediate cousin, the Negroni Sbgliato—made with Campari, Prosecco, and soda water—has seen a surge in popularity in the past six months, leading to a jump in sales for Campari at the end of 2022. According to Campari, many of its on-premise accounts experienced Campari shortages at the height of the Sbagliato’s newfound popularity.

What’s Next

The Italian bitters category is certainly set up for continued success, as Italian cocktail culture and low- or no-abv drinks continue appealing to a wide swath of consumers. Many believe that mixology, in particular, will feed the category for many years to come. “Spritzes and Negronis have been the place that it started, but now there’s more of a spotlight on Italian drinking culture across the board, and we’re so excited to see where the category goes,” says Luxardo’s Danielson. “You always worry with cocktail trends, are they going to be ongoing trends or are they just short-term fads that fall by the wayside? And I think with both the Spritz and the Negroni kicking off into an entire category of their own, and a lot of innovation and creativity used across those cocktails, all signs point to the likelihood that these will stay, and continue boosting these liqueurs.”