Adriatico

The brand was created by Jean-Robert Bellanger, whose inspiration was his Italian mother's tiramisu. He spent two years developing the recipe before launching, and based production in Puglia in southern Italy, where the Filippo Cea almond variety grows. These almonds are hand-picked, slow-roasted, macerated, then distilled rather than simply infused. The result is blended with vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa, coffee, and a touch of sea salt from Margherita di Savoia. Crucially, Adriatico uses roughly half the sugar of conventional amaretto, which lets the almond character breathe rather than drown.

The core range is alcoholic. Adriatico Roasted is the flagship, with a deep amber colour and pronounced toasted almond character. Adriatico Bianco takes a different direction: a white amaretto made with almond milk rather than dark roasted nuts, giving a softer, creamier profile. Both sit at 28% ABV.

For alcohol-free drinkers, the brand produces Amaretto Zero. It targets the same flavour territory as the Roasted expression, aiming for that honeyed, nutty depth that makes amaretto useful in cocktails and over ice. The zero variant is positioned at the same price point as the alcoholic bottles, which signals that Adriatico treats it as a genuine product rather than an afterthought for abstainers.

The brand is produced by Bellaventura Brands and distributed in the UK by Amber Beverage. It is stocked across a handful of UK retailers and is available direct from the brand's website, making it reasonably accessible without being ubiquitous.

Adriatico occupies an interesting niche: a premium amaretto that has built its reputation on the alcoholic range, with the zero version riding on the back of that credibility. Whether the alcohol-free expression fully delivers on the original's complexity is the real question for drinkers picking it off a shelf.