Cynar: The Bitter Liqueur That Makes Simple Cocktails Taste Expensive

Unless you're a serious cocktail geek, it's unlikely you have a bottle of Cynar in your bar. You may have seen its distinctive bottle, with its bold red label and illustration of an artichoke, and figured it was one of those obscure cordials only used in a handful of equally obscure cocktails.

But Cynar (pronounced chee-nar) is not only worth knowing about, but worth experimenting with at home. It's technically an amaro (a liqueur with distinctly herbal, bitter notes — Aperol and Campari are other well-known amaros). While different types of amaro have been made in Italy for centuries, Cynar is one of the newer varieties, first developed in 1952. A dark brown liqueur, it boasts a complex flavor, bittersweet and a bit vegetal with a touch of smokiness. While it can be served straight as an aperitif or a refreshing and restorative after-dinner drink, it's also a great mixer. And as many a bartender will tell you, a splash of Cynar in any number of basic drinks will turn them into something special.

Yes, the artichoke on the Cynar label is there for a reason — the drink really is made from artichokes. This isn't as unusual as you may think: A number of amaros (bitter botanical liqueurs) are made with artichokes and related plants such as cardoons and thistles. This tradition of artichoke-related drinks dates back to Roman times, when cooks cooked down the tough, fibrous parts of these plants in wine or water. Cynar, however, is a relatively modern innovation, invented by Venetian entrepreneur Angelo Dalla Molle, who wanted to harness the artichoke's nutritional benefits (and alleged aphrodisiac properties) in the form of an amaro.

No, Cynar doesn't taste like artichokes — it also contains a blend of 13 other botanicals, which seem to do most of the heavy lifting in terms of flavor. But artichokes do lend a subtle vegetal note to the drink, and contribute their unique flavor in another way: They contain cynarin, a compound that temporarily blocks our ability to taste sweet foods. This is why many perceive artichokes as bitter. It's also why everything tastes sweeter after we've had a bite of artichoke — once a little artichoke is swallowed and our sweet-perceiving taste buds come back "online" again, everything seems unusually sweet in contrast to what came before. This effect also contributes to Cynar's intriguing balance between sweet and bitter.

Cynar proudly displays an artichoke (one of its featured ingredients) on its label. This is a bit of a red herring, though: While Cynar is indeed made with artichokes, they're just one of over a dozen other ingredients in the drink, and far from the dominant flavor. While the manufacturers will gladly reveal that it's made from a blend of 13 botanicals and herbs (along with enough sugar to balance the bitterness), the exact content of the signature herbal blend — which has remained unchanged since it was introduced — remains a closely protected secret.

This hasn't stopped a few people from trying to guess what at least some of them may be, however. One taster perceived faint notes of basil and oregano, while another guessed that lemon and gentian may be included. But Cynar is not the sort of drink that inspires a lot of copycat recipes, unlike other beloved commercial foods and drinks. This could be because the blend of botanicals is so seamless and balanced it's nearly impossible to tease any individual ingredients out — and it's easier to just go buy a bottle than tackle this mystery.

If you enjoy experimenting with cocktails at home, you've no doubt memorized a few basic recipes for classic cocktails, such as a gin martini (gin and as much or as little vermouth as you dare — and make it dirty with some olive brine) and an Old-Fashioned (bourbon, bitters, and simple syrup). And you've almost certainly noticed that adding or switching a single ingredient can completely transform the finished drink — replace the simple syrup in an Old Fashioned with sweet vermouth, for instance, and you've transformed the drink into a Manhattan, another old-school favorite.

And adding a shot of Cynar to a basic Manhattan takes the sweet, wintery drink (it's typically garnished with a cherry) in a completely different direction, giving it a bracing bittersweet herbaceous note and an equally bracing new name: In Cold Blood. Intimidating as its name may be, the drink is as refreshingly easy to make as it is to drink: One shot each of rye or bourbon, sweet vermouth, and Cynar, mixed and served in a double rocks glass with a big ice cube. A final garnish of a lemon twist and pinch of salt highlight the savory notes of this satisfying sipper.

For many of us, gin and tonic is the go-to drink for hot weather or for those times when a bigger, boozier cocktail feels like a bit too much. And if it somehow feels healthier than a shot of bourbon or a daiquiri, it's because it was intended to be – tonic water was created as a delivery vehicle for quinine, which both prevented and treated malarial infections, and the addition of gin was intended to make the bitter drink more enticing to British military personnel and civilians serving overseas.

But while malaria is thankfully no longer a daily concern for those of us in the developed world, tonic water continues to be a favorite mixer. And gin isn't the only thing you can combine it with. The next time the urge hits for a bracing summery drink, try swapping out the gin in your gin and tonic for Cynar. Like gin, Cynar has a complex, herbal flavor and aroma that complement the bitterness of the tonic — but its flavor profile is a refreshing change-up from gin. And because it's lower in alcohol than gin, it's a great choice for those times when you're looking for something flavorful that won't slow you down.

Cynar is often compared to its better-known close cousins, Campari and Aperol. All three are Italian-made amaros, or bitter liqueurs made with botanicals. And while all offer a distinct hit of bitterness on the palate, their flavor profiles vary: Aperol is the sweetest of the three, Campari the most bitter, and Cynar falls somewhere between the two.

A range of cocktails have evolved to showcase the unique flavors and aromas of each of these amaros. An obvious example is the Aperol spritz, a refreshing blend of Prosecco, soda, and Aperol. And the unapologetic bitterness of Campari is an essential component of a classic Negroni. But as bartenders started to embrace Cynar, they began experimenting with it by swapping it in for other amaros – and found it worked beautifully. A Cynar spritz for example, offers a lighter, more balanced sweetness than the classic Aperol spritz. And swapped in for Campari in a Negroni, Aperol offers a distinctly different — but equally delicious — drinking experience.