When I last visited the distillery I saw how a small team were making these liqueurs in small batches, carefully monitoring the process. The nose drew me in with two of my favourite desserts and continued onto the palate with superb integration of flavours.

Unlike other Amaretto's which are usually made from an apricot kernal concentrate Saliza is made by re-distilling spirit with fresh crushed almonds which gives a harmonious and natural flavour. I'd say that the techniques used to make the rum change the flavour more than the raw material between molasses and cane honey, so it'll be other factors that.

This superior Amaretto made by master distiller Bepe Tosolini is a cut above other expressions, combining a delightful elegance with huge flavour intensity. Lazzaroni Amaretto– The original, still made in Italy (but now owned by the Laird apple brandy empire), and still purportedly made with cookies infused in alcohol.

We like nothing more than tasting wine with fellow enthusiasts and sharing the stories of the people who have created the wine. Once the distillation process is finished we make the final blend and add alcohol, sugar and caramel (for the dark color). It is a blend between distillation, carried out with manually operated steam stills, and infusion of sweet almonds. Defined by a famous journalist from the specialised press as the "patriarch of the still", Bepi arranged for some special steam stills featuring manual controls to be built, which are still used by the company today. Its candy bar character makes it the most dessert-like amaretto in this bunch, and at a whopping 21% alcohol, it feels tailor made for dumping over ice cream.Amaretto di Amore – This unique expression is produced in Kentucky (by Sazerac), made from bitter almonds and blended with apricot juice.

It’s much less sweet than most amaretto, which is surprising, with hints of chocolate and mint evident on the finish. The taste is intense but well-balanced, and it has a beautiful nose of freshly ground almonds, toffee and orange peel. Distillery Bepi Tosolini started as a grappa distillery in 1943, but over the years they have extended their collection to several other spirits and liqueurs.Bepi Tosolini has run several cocktail competitions in the UK creating new and exciting aperitif and digestif cocktails. It does indeed taste like a sweet yet lovely cookie, though there’s more vanilla and a hint of cake frosting on the finish than you might expect; that said, it pairs beautifully with the almond notes up front, reminding me of a marzipan-frosted princess cake at times. This authentic Amaretto is a refined almond distillate, harmonious, natural and incredibly balanced. We’ve chosen a classic Italian almond-flavoured example: Salizá Amaretto Veneziano from Bepi Tosolini. For many years, the best-selling brand has been one that hails from ( di)Saronno in Lombardy; however this is not made with real almonds, and while that may be great news for those with nut allergies, Salizá is made with crushed almonds, staying true to amaretto’s origins.