Forget everything you think you know about amaretto. This isn't the syrupy, artificial stuff sitting at the back of your nan's drinks cabinet. Scuppoz '592' is made by actually distilling toasted almonds — no shortcuts, no artificial flavourings — then sweetening with cane sugar and a touch of caramelised sugar for colour. 

Behind the bottle is Adriano Cicconi, who runs a setup that's one part laboratory, one part atelier  — and it shows. The name "Scuppoz" is an onomatopoeic Abruzzese dialect word evoking the pop of glasses clinking in a toast  and "592" refers to the old boundary marker — Cippo 592 — that once divided the Papal States from the Bourbon Kingdom, near where the distillery sits in Campli. There's a whole story in every bottle.

On the nose: toasted almond, honey, a whisper of dried fruit. On the palate, there's a perfectly calibrated tension between nutty bitterness and caramel sweetness — bright and refreshing rather than cloying. The finish is medium-long, with lingering almond and caramel that gradually fade to a gentle warmth and subtle nuttiness — clean, without the sticky aftertaste of lesser amarettos.

Sip it neat, over ice, or drop it into an Amaretto Sour and watch your guests ask what on earth you've put in it.

A serious amaretto for people who don't usually drink amaretto.