Amaretto is mostly sugar, almond and theatre, which makes it a clever candidate for an alcohol-free version — and Lyre’s Amaretti is probably the closest thing in their range to the drink it imitates. Marzipan, toasted almond and a vanilla-caramel backbone, with enough bitterness on the finish to stop it tasting like dessert syrup.
Where it earns its keep is in cocktails: an alcohol-free amaretto sour with fresh lemon and a proper foam is dangerously convincing, and it does the same trick over ice with cold espresso. At around £23.50 it is priced like the real thing, so treat it as a bar-cupboard staple rather than an impulse buy.
Full tasting notes and our member ratings below.
How to drink it
Amaretti earns its place behind cocktails rather than on its own. An alcohol-free amaretto sour — 50ml Amaretti, 25ml fresh lemon, a little sugar syrup and a proper foam — is the obvious use, and it is the drink that convinces people who assume alcohol-free spirits cannot carry a cocktail. It also works poured over ice with cold espresso, or as a small measure alongside coffee at the end of a meal, which is roughly how conventional amaretto gets used anyway.
It is sweet, so it rewards being cut with something sharp. Lemon, strong coffee or a dash of bitters all stop it drifting into dessert territory. Neat over ice is possible but it is not really the point of the bottle.
Where to buy it in the UK
We could not find Amaretti stocked in the major UK supermarkets at the time of writing — we checked Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose and none list it. It is sold through Lyre’s own site, Amazon UK, and alcohol-free specialists including Dry Drinker, with 700ml bottles typically landing somewhere in the £23 to £27 range depending on retailer and whether there is a promotion running. That is real-spirit money, so it is a considered purchase rather than something you throw in a basket.
Storage and shelf life
Because there is no alcohol acting as a preservative, treat it more like a cordial than a spirit. Keep it sealed and out of direct sunlight, and refrigerate it once opened. Used at cocktail pace it will be gone long before it turns, but it is not a bottle to open and then ignore at the back of a cupboard for a year.
How it fits the rest of the Lyre’s range
Amaretti is one of the more successful things Lyre’s makes, largely because amaretto is a flavour-led liqueur rather than a spirit defined by its alcohol bite — there is less to replace. If you want to see how the same brand handles a harder brief, our Lyre’s Italian Spritz review covers their aperitivo-style bottle, and our ranking of the best alcohol-free gins puts their gin alternative against the rest of the category.
Compliance note: This article is published by The Clear Head, a UK lifestyle site for people who don’t drink, are drinking less, or are sober curious. We aim to provide honest, practical information without promoting any particular brand or approach to alcohol.
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