Bitter liqueur Amante 1530 seeks to take on leading apéritif brands in the UK under a new distribution deal with Maverick Drinks.
Amante 1530’s name refers to the the lovers tarot card and the founding year of Il Paglio, the Tuscan estate where the idea for the brand was born
Amante 1530 aperitivo, is described as a ‘new’ take on the classic Italian amaro, that’s ‘less sweet, but not too bitter’.
It is produced using all-natural Italian ingredients at Pallini Distillery in Rome, and is said to contain 25% less sugar than the category leader, Aperol.
Following its US debut in September 2023, Amante 1530 will now be distributed in the UK by Kent-based Maverick Drinks who will spearhead a hospitality-led entry into the country.
The liqueur is made with botanicals including Italian citrus, ginger and honeysuckle, bottled at 15% ABV with a UK RRP of £20.95 (US$28) per 700ml.
Amante 1530 is available now from online retailer Master of Malt and in select on-trade locations, including Nobu London and Gold in Notting Hill, where it is the core component in the restaurant’s house Spritz.
Hannah Burden-Teh, brand manager at Maverick Drinks, said: “The Spritz occasion has exploded in Britain, and the category has diversified with it. Hugo, limoncello, vermouth Spritzes, they’ve all found an audience.
“But the classic Italian bitter Spritz, the one most people actually order, has never been seriously challenged. Amante 1530 is the first brand we’ve seen with the credentials to change that. It’s made by one of the most respected winemakers on the planet, bottled in one of the most historic distilleries in Italy, and the liquid speaks for itself the moment it hits the glass.”
Building a challenger brand around bartenders
Amante 1530 founder and CEO Ana Rosenstein left a career in venture capital to develop her product in collaboration with Italian oenologist Riccardo Cotarella.
Rosenstein told The Spirits Business: “You have this behemoth, Campari group, and they’ve built two extraordinary brands but I believed there was room for something else. I wanted to create something that sat in between Aperol and Campari, and was maybe the thing that you graduated to when you had outgrown the Aperol Spritz.”
Ana Rosenstein is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Business school
The concept of Amante 1530 was born when Rosenstein was on a trip to Tuscany.
“I was sitting there in Tuscany, with all of the people who ended up becoming my original investors, and we looked around to see four or five Spritzes on every table around us. It was this ‘eureka’ moment; the world didn’t look like this 10 years ago. This category has just exploded and there’s one player.
“This was just at the moment that Casamigos had come in and transformed Tequila. Aviation had come in and done the same for gin. The aperitivo category was kind of the last man standing, and it was only growing in popularity.”
Maverick Drinks will focus first on growing Amante 1530’s presence in the UK on-trade, and Rosenstein confirmed plans to expand into chain retail in the coming years.
“In terms of strategy, I spend a lot of time in market,” said Rosenstein. “We hire our own salespeople in every market that we’re in. We’re actually looking to expand the team in London and most of the people we hire are former bartenders.
“We don’t really work with a lot of traditional influencers, because that’s not really the brand. There are some influencers who have a lot of value, but in our category it’s the people with expertise that drive the consumption pattern. It’s the bartenders who know this space better than I ever will who are the people I want on board.”
This bartender-first approach influenced the design of the Amante 1530 bottle, cap and label, all of which is made in Italy.
“I wanted the bottle to look fresh and modern, but also like it had sat on the back bar for generations. Everything about the bottle was designed for both consumers and for bartenders to love it,” Rosenstein added.
“The circumference is the size of the average hand, so that makes it really easy for bartenders to hold. Right at happy hour when you’re rushing, the bottle doesn’t fall out of your hand. It has a long neck so that it can be down in the well, so that we can be the house Spritz.”
Rosenstein has confirmed the brand will focus on its flagship product for the foreseeable future, with a planned 50ml format due to debut later this year. She has not ruled out new expressions and limited edition seasonal releases in the future.
Respect for the category
While she has been clear about her intention to take on market leader Campari, Rosenstein is quick to pay tribute to the brands that have helped make the aperitivo category a global success.
“I have so much respect for the incumbent. I don’t want to bash their products because they’re beloved for a reason,” she continued.
“I normally just ask people to try the liquid on its own, try it on the rocks, maybe add a lemon, see how the flavour opens up. Try it against a whole set of other aperitivos and see what you like best. We find that when people try an Amante Spritz, they never go back.”
Amante 1530 isn’t the only brand seeking to challenge Campari Group in the marketplace.
Last year, Allora Aperitivo al Limone debuted an out-of-home campaign depicting its signature limoncello Spritz in a sea of recognisable orange Spritzes with text reading ‘Non Per Tutti’ – meaning ‘not for everyone’ in Italian.
In the past 12 months, established names including De Kuyper, Cointreau and Gordon’s have all launched expressions aimed at capturing a piece of the lucrative aperitivo market.
In May this year, Martini Vermouth published the results of a OnePoll online survey, which found two thirds of respondents across seven European countries preferred Spritz to beer in the summer months.
Aperol took the number one spot in the speciality spirits segment of The Brand Champions 2026, having sold 10 million nine-litre cases in the preceeding year.
Its stablemate Campari held the number four position on the list with sales of 4.9m nine-litre cases.