Cynar is younger than it looks. Created in 1952 by Venetian philanthropist Angelo Dalle Molle and his brothers at their distillery in Padua, it became an Italian household name through an unforgettable advertising slogan: "against the stress of modern life," delivered by an actor calmly sipping Cynar amid the chaos of Milan traffic. Made from artichoke leaves and twelve other herbs and plants, it's notably gentler than its amaro cousins — sweeter than Campari, less herbal than Fernet Branca, and lower in alcohol than most. The artichoke base gives it a distinctive vegetal note that somehow still manages to taste, against all odds, more like dark chocolate and caramel than vegetable. A natural substitute for Campari in a Negroni or Spritz, or simply with soda and a slice of orange.
