Welcome

Its the morning of my shoot for the Amari Special, and I still don't know what Amari is. For the March Issue of Nashville Lifestyles, I was asked to photograph the Amari Makes Dinner Better Article. The magazine wanted to get shots of Amari specials at Nicky's Coal Fired Kitchen and Pastaria. Both restaurants have amazing amaro collections. I photographed 4 cocktails in total and photographed the amaro bars at both restaurants. Keep reading if you are looking for some beverage photography inspiration and some amazing beverage photography. So let's talk about the shoot!

What is Amaro?

If you are like me you are going to be wondering what an amaro or amari is. An amaro is an Italian herbal liqueur. Generally, it is consumed as an after-dinner digestif. As a general rule, the flavors are on the bitter spectrum and common brands include Amaro Averna, Campari, Cynar, and Fernet. Many of us will recognize Campari from the famous Negroni.

Nicky's Coal Fired Kitchen

Let's start off with Nicky's Coal Fired Kitchen. This has got to be one of Nashville absolute best Italian restaurants. Amazing pizza and pasta. Alright, let's get to why I was there the drinks. I photographed two cocktails at Nicky's the End of the Road and The Dark Horse. The end of the road features Tennessee's own George Dickel Rye Whiskey, Rinomati, Lucano, Angostura bitters, and orange bitters. I tried a quick sip and it was totally delicious. 

A Behind The Scenes Tour of My Shoot at Nicky's Coal Fired Kitchen

Lets take a quick behind the scenes tour to Nickey's Coal Fired kitchen.

Nicky's Coal Fired is located in the hip new section of the Nations and is right near Southern Grist. So you can grab some awesome pasta and pizza and an amaro drink and then head over to Southern Grist and grab an amazing beer.

I'm totally digging the hard light for this cocktail. While this location has some amazing natural light I chose to augment what was already there with a strobe.

Pastaria

Let's head on over to Pastaria. It is located in the recently developed part of Charlotte Pike that is truly up and coming. This spot has a really high-end feel and vibe. The coffee shop next-door is amazing as well. At Pastaria I had the pleasure of working with Diana Benanti who is a huge Amari fan while I was working with her she mentioned that Amari was originally created by monks to heal people.

At Pastaria I photographed two drinks The Bad Feather which features locally bottled and aged Belle Meade Bourbon, Gran Classico bitters, Cynar amaro, and Decanter bitters. This drink was delicious. I also photographed In the Mouth of the Wolf which featured St. George Gin, Zucca Amaro, and Punt e Mes vermouth which was awesome as well.

Wrapping it Up!

I had a blast getting to know more about amaro while photographing these cocktails. It is so fun being a part of the awesome food and beverage scene that Nashville has to offer. It is really cool being a part of a city that is growing so quickly.

Nick Bumgardner is a beverage photographer based outside of Nashville, Tn.