DAY TRIP BLUEBERRY AMARO

Matchbook Distilling Co. is a unique, experimental "R&D facility" dedicated to producing bespoke, small-batch spirits that champion local agriculture, sustainability, and scientific innovation. Matchbook emphasizes a return to a farmer-driven distillation cycle, believing healthy soil produces the best-flavored ingredients. They collaborate closely with local farmers, often utilizing "imperfect" or surplus produce that might otherwise go to waste.  The distillery operates more like a research lab than a traditional production facility, with head distiller Leslie Merinoff Kwasnieski (a direct descendant of Hiram Walker, founder of Canadian Club whisky) creating several new, limited-release spirits each month.

Day Trip Blueberry Amaro is a limited seasonal release known for being a clean, vivid, and deeply blue expression of summer fruit, balancing a pronounced blueberry tartness with unique, nostalgic sweet and bitter notes. It is a lighter, fruit-forward amaro that diverges from the traditional, heavily herbaceous Italian style. The primary flavor is intense, real blueberry, sourced locally and captured at peak ripeness. For sweetness, the producers use a unique syrup made from cornflakes steeped with whole Madagascar vanilla beans, adding notes of toast, cream, and a soft, warm depth that evokes childhood picnics. The bitterness, which is generous but not cloying, comes from orris root, gentian root, and quassia bark, providing a musky, woody structure that balances the fruit and vanilla flavors.

Day Trip Blueberry Amaro has a lighter body and lower ABV makeing it a versatile choice for a variety of serving options: sipped neat or on the rocks, it can be enjoyed on its own as an aperitif or digestif. It is an excellent substitute for Aperol in a spritz or can be swapped into a late-summer Negroni for a fruity twist.