How To Drink Cynar In A Cocktail Or On Its Own

Cynar, the Italian bitter liqueur, might be best known for having an unlikely vegetable — the artichoke — both on the label and as a key ingredient among its many other botanical inclusions. A favorite of bartenders and cocktail inventors for the deep flavor and balance it adds to drinks, Cynar (pronounced "chee-nahr") often stands in for other bitter liqueurs like Aperol or Campari when a less sweet, more earthy flavor is called for. If you're interested in adding a bottle of this unique amaro to your home bar, Saeed "Hawk" House, the owner and bartender at Cocktails By Hawk LLC and popular social media creator @cocktailsbyhawk on Instagram, has a few suggestions for how to best enjoy it.

Hawk suggests using Cynar in simple, approachable cocktails like the Black Manhattan or "in an Americano riff with soda water and sweet vermouth." In both of these drinks, using Cynar reduces the sweetness, amplifies the deep earthy flavors, and makes the drink both recognizable and unique at the same time. If you want an even simpler way to enjoy Cynar, Hawk suggests "another way to enjoy Cynar is over ice or in a shot paired with a nice cold beer."

So, if you want to level up your home cocktail game, look no farther than that classic bottle of Cynar. As Saeed "Hawk" House suggests, the simple switch of the sweet vermouth in a classic Manhattan for the bitter richness of Cynar not only gives the Black Manhattan a flavor twist away from what can sometimes feel like an overly sweet cocktail, but adds texture from the denseness of the liqueur. Likewise, the Americano, usually made with a mixture of bittersweet Campari and sweet vermouth, benefits from Hawk's suggestion — swapping the Campari for Cynar cuts the syrupy sweetness and adds welcome earthiness.

This unique botanical liqueur also works well in spritzers, mixed with sodas like Coca-Cola, or paired with citrus juices and tonic water as in this sparkling Cynar cocktail. Cynar can also stand in for Campari in a Negroni or Boulevardier, or serve as the star of its own cocktails like the Bitter Giuseppe and Cynar Flip. Hawk's suggestion of sipping on an icy cold Cynar will allow you to taste all of the liqueur's complex flavors while indulging in this herbal concoction. Many people enjoy Cynar as a pre-meal palate opener, or even as a post-meal digestif, but it's also hard to go wrong with Hawk's pairing of a shot with a cold beer to wash it down. The bubbles in the beer will help cleanse your palate, too — just in time for another taste of this timeless Italian bitter liqueur.