Liquid Riot branches out into amaro category

Portland-based distiller and brewer Liquid Riot Bottling Company has expanded its spirits portfolio with new amaro Fernet Michaud.

The impression is made by infusing 22 herbs and botanicals over the course of six days, before ageing the liquid for three months in Maine blueberry wine barrels.

Fernet Michaud is described as having “earthy notes of bitter aloe, rhubarb and fennel” on the palate and “pleasant minty finish”.

The expression’s suggested serve is as a digestive after a meal, sipped neat or on the rocks, or mixed in a cocktail.

“Amaro is something I have dreamed of distilling since my wife and I journeyed across Europe together, before we had kids,” said Eric Michaud, Liquid Riot’s founder and owner.

“Watching an older couple drink amaro after dinner in Bamberg, Germany, and seeing folks sitting at outside cafes in the narrow alleys of Venice sipping amaros, really struck a chord for me. The culture and the history behind it, the fact that this type of spirit has been produced for so long, has made its way around the globe, and is consumed by people of all ages, made me want to make something like that here in Portland.”

Fernet Michaud is bottled at 41% abv and is available in 750ml bottles with an RRP of US$34.99.

Other Liquid Riot spirit brands include the Old Port line up of rye, single malt, Bourbon, and oat whiskies, Well… Vodka, Rhum Blanc, and Dow’s Demise Aged Rum.