![\"Amante](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SB-650x410-28-640x404.jpg\")
Amante 1530\u2019s 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<\/p>\nBitter liqueur Amante 1530 seeks to take on leading ap\u00e9ritif brands in the UK under a new distribution deal with Maverick Drinks.<\/p>\n
Amante 1530\u2019s 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<\/p>\n
Amante 1530 aperitivo, is described as a \u2018new\u2019 take on the classic Italian amaro, that\u2019s \u2018less sweet, but not too bitter\u2019.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The liqueur is made with botanicals including Italian citrus, ginger and honeysuckle, bottled at 15% ABV with a UK RRP of \u00a320.95 (US$28) per 700ml.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s house Spritz.<\/p>\n
Hannah Burden-Teh, brand manager at Maverick Drinks, said: \u201cThe Spritz occasion has exploded in Britain, and the category has diversified with it. Hugo, limoncello, vermouth Spritzes, they\u2019ve all found an audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the classic Italian bitter Spritz, the one most people actually order, has never been seriously challenged. Amante 1530 is the first brand we\u2019ve seen with the credentials to change that. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building a challenger brand around bartenders<\/p>\n
Amante 1530 founder and CEO Ana Rosenstein left a career in venture capital to develop her product in collaboration with Italian oenologist Riccardo Cotarella.<\/p>\n
Rosenstein told The Spirits Business: \u201cYou have this behemoth, Campari group, and they\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ana](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SB-650x650-6-640x640.jpg\")
Ana Rosenstein is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Business school<\/p>\n
The concept of Amante 1530 was born when Rosenstein was on a trip to Tuscany.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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 \u2018eureka\u2019 moment; the world didn\u2019t look like this 10 years ago. This category has just exploded and there\u2019s one player.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maverick Drinks will focus first on growing Amante 1530\u2019s presence in the UK on-trade, and Rosenstein confirmed plans to expand into chain retail in the coming years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of strategy, I spend a lot of time in market,\u201d said Rosenstein. \u201cWe hire our own salespeople in every market that we\u2019re in. We\u2019re actually looking to expand the team in London and most of the people we hire are former bartenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t really work with a lot of traditional influencers, because that\u2019s not really the brand. There are some influencers who have a lot of value, but in our category it\u2019s the people with expertise that drive the consumption pattern. It\u2019s the bartenders who know this space better than I ever will who are the people I want on board.\u201d<\/p>\n
This bartender-first approach influenced the design of the Amante 1530 bottle, cap and label, all of which is made in Italy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d Rosenstein added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe circumference is the size of the average hand, so that makes it really easy for bartenders to hold. Right at happy hour when you\u2019re rushing, the bottle doesn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Respect for the category<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have so much respect for the incumbent. I don\u2019t want to bash their products because they\u2019re beloved for a reason,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amante 1530 isn\u2019t the only brand seeking to challenge Campari Group in the marketplace.<\/p>\n
Last year, Allora Aperitivo al Limone debuted an out-of-home campaign<\/a> depicting its signature limoncello Spritz in a sea of recognisable orange Spritzes with text reading \u2018Non Per Tutti\u2019 \u2013 meaning \u2018not for everyone\u2019 in Italian.<\/p>\n In the past 12 months, established names including De Kuyper<\/a>, Cointreau<\/a> and Gordon\u2019s<\/a> have all launched expressions aimed at capturing a piece of the lucrative aperitivo market.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> in the summer months.<\/p>\n