The bittersweet lyrics of “Autumn Sweater,” from Yo La Tengo‘s 1997, I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, serve as the source material for this melancholy change-of-season shoegazer. Serve it over a large block of ice, or over an ice sphere—even better to evoke a fat harvest moon hanging in the nighttime sky.
Made in Sicily since 1868, Averna is a syrupy, bitter herbal liqueur. It isn’t overpowering, though, and is a great gateway amaro if you’re interested in exploring potable bitters. Amaro Nonino is another mild Italian digestif whose caramel color and warm, spicy burnt orange notes round out the full fall flavors here. Wrap yourself in an Autumn Sweater and embrace what the season has in store for you.
Reprinted with permission from Bitters by Brad Thomas Parsons, copyright © 2011. Photos by Ed Anderson © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.