Cynar is the intriguing Italian amaro built around artichoke, one of the most versatile bottles on any serious back bar. Despite its vegetal namesake, it drinks as a rounded, bittersweet herbal liqueur rather than anything savory, and it works equally well before or after a meal. At our cabin-inspired cocktail bar in West Seattle, Cynar is a quiet star. We pour it as an aperitivo or digestivo, and bartenders love it for the earthy, bittersweet complexity it lends to cocktails.
About the Producer
Cynar was launched in Italy in 1952 and takes its name from Cynara scolymus, the artichoke. It became a household name in Italy thanks to memorable mid-century advertising and is today produced by the Campari Group, which has kept the original character intact.
Style & Flavor
Cynar is an amaro, the Italian family of bittersweet herbal liqueurs, made from a blend of 13 herbs and plants with artichoke at its center. It is bottled at 16.5% ABV, on the gentler end for the category, and pours a deep dark brown. The artichoke base gives it a distinctive earthy, vegetal undertone beneath the bitterness.
Tasting Notes
Expect aromas of dark herbs, caramel, and a faint earthy note. The palate is bittersweet and rounded, with herbal bitterness, a touch of caramel sweetness, and an earthy, almost cola-like depth, finishing dry and pleasantly bitter. It is more approachable than its reputation suggests.
How to Enjoy It at Camp West
Try Cynar over ice with an orange twist as an aperitivo, sip it neat as a digestivo, or let it add earthy bittersweet complexity to a cocktail. It is famously flexible across the meal. A pour of Cynar at Camp West is $9.
FAQ
Does Cynar taste like artichoke? Not really. Artichoke is the base, but the result is a bittersweet, herbal amaro with an earthy depth rather than a vegetable flavor.
Is Cynar an aperitivo or a digestivo? Both. Its balanced bittersweet profile works to open the appetite or to close out a meal.
Ready to try it? Book a table, browse our liqueurs & amari list, or see the full beverage menu.