An Alluring New Amaro Bar Opens This Weekend in Ivy City

Starting this Saturday, cocktail aficionados drawn to Ivy City’s concentration of distilleries will be able to sample Italian amaros, apertivos, and cordials at a new production facility and tasting room from D.C.-based liqueur company Don Ciccio & Figli.

Following a move from the Manor Park neighborhood in Northwest that more than doubled its production space, Don Ciccio will open its new facility at 1907 Fairview Avenue NE from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Free tours and tastings of the brand’s 14 spirits will run every 30 minutes. People who want to linger can scope out a new ocean blue cocktail room dubbed Bar Sirenis, where flights of the mixed drinks cost $12 (for two) or $15 (for three). The cocktail menu is split into two parts: classics ($9 to $11) including a negroni, an Americano, and a spritz, and specialties that incorporate other liqueurs (limoncello, cinque) along with higher-proof spirits such as vodka, gin, and rye.

Fourth-generation distiller Francesco Amodeo, whose family hails from the Amalfi Coast in western Italy, chose glassware at the bar that reminded him of his grandmother’s set. Amodeo, who moved the company to D.C. in 2012, is giving people the option of purchasing the glasses for $5 after completing a drink.

Every $50 spent on Don Ciccio products at the facility will come with a $5 token toward cocktails, and people can have recipes emailed to them when they’re done drinking. There’s also a photo booth for people who want to pose with their new best friend (it’s amaro).

At the bar, a mythical siren theme calls for mermaid imagery and an aquamarine color scheme. The distillery sourced custom-designed tiles from Salerno, Italy.

Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

A Cerasum aperitivo, bottom right, has tart and bitter characteristics ideal for mixing into spritzes and negronis.

According to the company, the Amodeos have been making liqueur since 1883, when Francesco Amodeo’s great great grandfather Vincenzo was formulating recipes.

Since Amodeo brought Don Ciccio & Figli to D.C. in 2012, the company has planted its products from coast to coast in the United States.

Amaro fans should also check out Officina at the Wharf, where chef-owner Nicholas Stefanelli has curated an entire library devoted to the bittersweet liqueur.

Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

• Don Ciccio Is Joining the Ivy City Distillery Gang [EDC]
• D.C. Amaro Maker Expects to Open Affordable Cocktail Bar in Ivy City This Spring [EDC]
• Where to Eat, Drink, and Tour Distilleries in Ivy City [EDC]