- Origin
- an accord composed by the perfumer
- Raw materials
- almond, liqueur and caramel notes
- Extraction
- synthesis
- Olfactory group
- gourmand (“boozy”)
- Position in the pyramid
- heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- benzaldehyde, vanillin, cognac oil
Amaretto is an Italian almond liqueur with a characteristic bittersweet taste. Despite its almond aroma, it is often made from apricot kernels, which smell just like almonds.
How it smells: warm, sweet and almondy: marzipan, cherry stone, a soft boozy and caramel shade, a faintly spicy note. Amaretto sounds cosy, sensual and made for the evening.
The familiar almond-cherry smell of amaretto comes from benzaldehyde — the same molecule that smells of bitter almonds and fruit stones. Next to vanilla and liqueur notes it creates this recognisable dessert image.
What it pairs with: with cherry — “cherries in amaretto”, with coffee — “coffee with liqueur”, with vanilla and tonka — warm dessert compositions, with rose — almond-floral fragrances, with woods and amber — a warm evening base.
Good to know: the name amaretto comes from the Italian “amaro”, bitter: it is the slight bitterness of the kernels that makes this sweet liqueur so special.
