When is National Amaretto Day?
Wednesday April 19thNational Amaretto Day, April 19th, honors a liqueur known around the world for its taste and aroma.
Amaretto means "a little bitter" in Italian, because it is made from bitter almonds or apricot kernels, or both. Makers infuse it with either pure alcohol or brandy, resulting in a strong almond flavor. This traditionally Italian liqueur has a reputation for being fragrant.
Secrecy and lore shrouded secrecy and lore..
Artist Bernardino Luini selected a young innkeeper as his model for a fresco of the Madonna of the Miracles in Saronno, Italy. The innkeeper gave the artist a gift of her own personal blend of almond and brandy in appreciation for being chosen. For centuries, the family held the dish as a closely guarded mystery. Nevertheless, the Di Saronno family began making its amaretto for a wider audience in the twentieth century. The liqueur first appeared in newspaper advertisements in the United States in the late 1940s, and the family now bottles their recipe.
Another Amaretto tale comes from the same region of Italy as well as another Amaretto tale. However, this tale tells of a young Lazzaroni couple who were blessed by the Cardinal of Milan in 1718. The couple celebrated his stay with a special dish of their own, creating an amaretto cookie like no other. And this one came in a bottle as well. Naturally, they also closely guarded their recipe generations. The Lazzaroni family first began exporting their amaretto liqueur in 1851, and the family is still making it today.
