Redefining Bittersweet: Kanegasaki Herbal Distillery, Combier, and the Architecture of Amaro

Amaro, the traditional bittersweet herbal liqueur of Italy, is far richer and more nuanced than a single flavor descriptor suggests. A beginner’s guide published by an American drinks magazine reads it through three elements: its base spirit, the regional origin of its botanicals, and its alcohol content. Adding a fourth dimension sharpens the picture further: whether the liquid undergoes distillation after maceration.

Viewing herbal spirits through these four lenses reveals parallels and contrasts, clearly seen in two distinct producers: Kanegasaki Herbal Distillery in Iwate, Japan, and Distillerie Combier in the Loire Valley of France.

Maceration, Botanicals, and the Roots of Amaro

According to the guide, the foundation of amaro lies in steeping grape brandy or neutral spirit with bittering agents and aromatic botanicals, then sweetening the result. Common bittering agents include cinchona bark, gentian root, wormwood and angelica root, layered with citrus peels, herbs, spices and flowers.

The tradition is traced to medieval Italian friars and monks, who prepared herbal tonics from botanicals. By the early nineteenth century, production had become commercial, and after the Second World War amaro moved from a product sold by pharmacists to one sold as a consumer product rather than a remedy.

The botanicals themselves tell a story of place. Southern Italian recipes drew on bitter oranges, while northern regions drew on Alpine herbs and flowers. Meanwhile, spices arriving through Venice, a key hub of the spice trade, found their way into regional formulations alongside local plants.

Kanegasaki Herbal Distillery: A Rice-Derived Expression of Japanese Flora

In Kanegasaki, Iwate Prefecture, former bartender Kazuma Oikawa founded K.S.P Co., Ltd. in 2021, which produces under the name Kanegasaki Herbal Distillery.

Consider AKA-ONI ROSSO Japanese Sweet Vermouth. Where the guide describes amaro built on grape brandy or neutral spirit, AKA-ONI ROSSO begins with a base of mirin made from Konjiki no Kaze, a branded Iwate rice, together with kasutori shochu, a spirit distilled from rice-derived sake lees.

Its bitter structure includes wormwood, one of the bittering agents named in the guide, alongside kihada (Amur cork tree), a species native to East Asia, including Japan. The aromatics include kuromoji (Japanese spicebush), tamushiba (willow-leaf magnolia), rose, ginger and vanilla, with shiso and sansho as well. Kuromoji and tamushiba are both endemic to Japan.

The producer has not published where its botanicals are sourced, but its choice of plants native to Japan gives the liqueur a regional character. Bottled at 18% ABV, it falls within the range of alcohol content cited in the guide (16.5–35% ABV). Its dry companion, AO-ONI DRY Japanese Dry Vermouth, is made from a base of hon-mirin and sake, macerated with botanicals centred on wormwood, and is also bottled at 18% ABV.

Distillerie Combier: Trade-Route Spices and the Distillation Divide

In Saumur, France, Distillerie Combier offers two spirits that differ in how they are made.

Élixir Combier is produced by macerating around fifteen botanicals, including cardamom, myrrh, cinnamon and saffron, before distillation. The house describes its aromatics as Oriental spices. Of the two sources of botanicals the guide describes, this recipe leans towards spices carried by trade rather than local plants. At 38% ABV, it sits above the range cited in the guide.

L’Original Combier was created in 1834 by founder Jean-Baptiste Combier, and the house regards it as the first triple sec. Sweet and bitter orange peels imported from the Caribbean are zested by hand and distilled in the original copper stills still in use at the distillery. According to the house, the metal framework of the still room that houses them was designed by Gustave Eiffel’s engineers. Bitter orange is also the fruit the guide associates with southern Italian amaro. L’Original Combier is bottled at 40% ABV as a clear, colourless spirit.

The amaro described in the guide is finished by sweetening a botanical infusion. Both of Combier’s spirits, by contrast, include a distillation step. Beyond the botanicals used, this difference in process is a useful key to how these two spirits differ from amaro.

Craft Beyond Nomenclature: A Four-Part Perspective

The guide notes that whether bitter aperitivo liqueurs count as amaro differs between Italy and the United States. The same spirit may be classified and understood differently from country to country.

Comparing base spirit, botanicals, post-maceration process and ABV, the two Kanegasaki creations share common ground with amaro through wormwood and an ABV within the guide’s range, while their rice-derived base and their identity as vermouths set them apart from the typical amaro. Combier’s two spirits share bitter orange and spices with amaro, yet their distillation step and an ABV above the guide’s range give them a distinct profile.

Looking at how a spirit is built rather than how it is labelled reveals differences that the single word “bitter” cannot capture.

This article is intended solely to explore the production craftsmanship and cultural heritage of Kanegasaki Herbal Distillery (K.S.P Co., Ltd.) and Distillerie Combier, and the AKA-ONI, AO-ONI and COMBIER brands, and does not aim to promote or encourage the consumption of alcohol. / บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อนำเสนอข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับศิลปะการผลิตและมรดกทางวัฒนธรรมของ Kanegasaki Herbal Distillery (K.S.P Co., Ltd.) และ Distillerie Combier รวมถึงแบรนด์ AKA-ONI, AO-ONI และ COMBIER เท่านั้น มิได้มีเจตนาเพื่อส่งเสริมหรือโฆษณาเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ สำหรับผู้มีอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป โปรดดื่มอย่างรับผิดชอบ

Related Articles

“A Vermouth Built on Mirin” / “Tailoring Maceration Time and Alcohol Strength to Each Botanical: Kanegasaki Yakusō Shuzō” / “Elixir COMBIER” / “COMBIER Original” / “A Whisky-Based Negroni Variation｜Junmai Sake Casks and Mirin”

Related Product(s)

AKA-ONI ROSSO Sweet Vermouth / AO-ONI DRY Vermouth / COMBIER Elixir / COMBIER Original