Not to sound too wistful, but these days, it's easy to forget how modest the amaro options in the U.S. once were. Now, most backbars are lined with a wide and rich spectrum of amaro and European liqueurs, but that was not the case when, as a burgeoning drinks writer in the mid-2000s, I first spiraled down the bitter rabbit hole.
the bar has a decanter of what might just be the oldest whisky in the world, first bottled in 1841 and discovered at Blair Castle in 2022. During a recent visit to Bertie's, I was told an unnamed client flew in to the hotel from the continent and back, without even a stop off for dinner, specifically to taste a single dram of this rare spirit.