"I'm writing from home, from San Francisco, which I returned to just over 36 hours ago from Italy, and I have a serious case of jetlag and amaro-itis. Am I a junkie, or merely being rational? Does my body now desperately need the bitter herbal liqueur after ten days of Italian food and drink, or do I dare stare the bottle of Averna down and say, No! You and I, in spite of our passionate love affair, must take a break.
The trip was splendid, well organized, educational, and the beauty of Italy certainly didn't hurt. The actual cocktail competition was staged on the terrace of the Capotaormina Hotel overlooking the Mediterranean sea and Calabria in the east. It was the most spectacular setting for a cocktail competition one could ever imagine.
As you know by now, Don Lee of PDT in New York took the crown home with his 'La Cola Nostra' cocktail, a long drink full of spice and effervescence. It was the unanimous favorite of the judges, all of whom were culled from either England or Italy. Then, we celebrated with a fantastic seafood lunch paired with Sicilian wine, and some of us, also took a nap.
That evening we headed into the mountaintop village of Taormina with its winding cobble-stoned roads for the first of two amazing evenings. We were fortunate enough to have cocktails on the deck of a hotel where we faced south and watched Mt. Etna angrily spit her lava down to the Sicilians living at her base.
Saturday morning brought us into a meeting with Averna's resident mixologist in Italy, Michele Di Carlo, as we tasted and talked through the world of Amaro. It was particularly interesting for we Americans to see the European perspective on Amaro, which is still firmly rooted in enjoying the spirit on its own. I wonder, however, with some of the cocktail competition judges hailing from London 
bars and its fantastic bar culture, if some of their influence might just jump across the English Channel and on over to Italy. Italy, as a whole, is a cocktail creators paradise as it produces so much fresh, unique produce, as well as having thousands of wineries and distilleries. I do imagine at some point that Italy will have an incredibly vibrant cocktail scene just like many other countries around the world.
As I step behind my bar this evening, I wonder if I'll need just a little hair of the bittersweet dog that took me 'round the world: bottle of Averna, beware!'" Thanks - Duggan
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