●THE AMARO ATLAS

RECORD amer-picon · EVIDENCE GRADE A · UNCLAIMED · LAST VERIFIED 2026-07-05

Amer Picon

Marseille · France · 43.297, 5.370

REGION: franceTRADITION: GentianeEST. 1837WEBSITE ↗

ZONE 01 — VERIFIED FACTS

Founded
1837, by Gaetan Picon (b.1809), who developed the recipe while doing military service in French Algeria as a way to make quinine treatment more palatableA·2
Historic production site
First distillery opened 1840 at Philippeville, French Algeria (now Skikda) under the name Amer Africain; renamed Amer Picon and moved to a larger factory in Marseille in 1872, which remains the brand's referenced historic production siteA·2
Early recognition
Won a bronze medal at the 1862 London Universal Exhibition, which drove early commercial successA·2
Current owner
Acquired by Campari Group from Diageo for approximately EUR 119 million, announced 10 May 2022A·7
ABV history
Original strength approximately 39% ABV in 1837, reduced in stages through the 20th century to 18% by 1989; current Picon Amer bottling is 21% ABV per the producer's live product pageC·8
Core botanicals (current)
Picon Amer is made with bitter orange peel and gentian root; producer-page ingredient list does not currently name cinchona bark for Picon Amer specifically, though historic recipes reportedly included it, and it is explicitly confirmed as a current ingredient in the related Picon Biere productA·3
Market position
Nearly 80% of Picon's sales derive from France, where it holds a leading position in the bitter aperitif category; the remainder comes primarily from Benelux marketsA·7
Range structure
Three-product range: Picon Amer (core bitter expression), Picon Club (launched 1995, milder orange liqueur for mixing with dry white wine), and Picon Biere (introduced 1967, bittering agent for beer cocktails)A·2

ZONE 02 — AI-COLLATED SUMMARY

AI-ASSISTED · FROM GRADED PUBLIC SOURCES

Amer Picon is a French gentiane-tradition bitter aperitif founded in 1837 by Gaetan Picon, with roots in French Algeria before the brand's production centred on Marseille from 1872. The core product, Picon Amer, is built on bitter orange peel and gentian root at 21% ABV per the producer's current listing, down from an original strength near 39% following staged reductions through the 20th century. Campari Group acquired the brand from Diageo in 2022 for roughly EUR 119 million, and the range also includes two milder, mixer-oriented products, Picon Club and Picon Biere, that sit outside the strict core-amaro bitterness bar.

AI-collated from the graded sources below; operator review pending. Corrections made during adversarial verification: Picon Club's 18% ABV re-sourced from an unsupporting press release to the producer's own page plus independent retailer corroboration; Picon Biere's cinchona bark and gentian upgraded from probable to confirmed against the producer's own product page.

ZONE 03 — PRODUCER-SUBMITTED NOTES

This record is unclaimed. This space opens to the producer when they claim it. Producer claiming is coming soon.

PRODUCTS ON RECORD

Picon Amer

21% ABV · 700ML

BOTTLE IMAGE
ADDED BY THE PRODUCER

SUBCATEGORY bitterRING coreTRADITION GentianeSELF-IDENTIFIED “French bitter aperitif”

The core Amer Picon expression and the brand's most bitter product. A dark, reddish-brown French aperitif built on dried bitter orange peel and gentian root, historically bittered further with cinchona bark, finished with caramel for colour and a touch of sweetness. Produced at the Marseille site the brand has used since 1872. Traditionally cut with beer (Picon bière) or used as the backbone of the Picon Punch, and increasingly seen in classic cocktail builds such as the Picon Brooklyn.

BOTANICAL MATRIX — 4 GRADED EDGES

  • Bitter orange peel · primary bittering / citrus baseA·3
  • Gentian root · bitteringA·3
  • Cinchona bark · historic bittering agent (quinine source)C·8
  • Caramel · colour and light sweetnessA·2

DESCRIPTORS

  • bitter orange ▮▮▮▮▮A·3
  • caramel ▮▮▮▮▮A·3
  • herbal ▮▮▮▮▮A·3
  • sweet-bitter finish ▮▮▮▮▮A·3

Picon Club

18% ABV

BOTTLE IMAGE
ADDED BY THE PRODUCER

SUBCATEGORY — (family ring)RING familyTRADITION GentianeSELF-IDENTIFIED “Milder orange liqueur for mixing with wine”

A milder, rounder orange liqueur in the Picon range, launched in 1995 and positioned for mixing with dry white wine rather than as a standalone bitter dram. Producer copy describes it as sweet and smoothly bitter, with predominant notes of orange and caramel, and explicitly less bitter than Picon Bière, so it sits family/adjacent to the core amaro rather than fully conforming to the strict bitterness bar.

BOTANICAL MATRIX — 2 GRADED EDGES

  • Orange peel · citrus baseA·4
  • Herbs (unspecified blend) · flavouringA·7

DESCRIPTORS

  • orange ▮▮▮▮▮A·4
  • caramel ▮▮▮▮▮A·4
  • mild bitterness ▮▮▮▮▮A·4

Picon Bière

18% ABV

BOTTLE IMAGE
ADDED BY THE PRODUCER

SUBCATEGORY — (family ring)RING familyTRADITION GentianeSELF-IDENTIFIED “Bittering agent for beer cocktails”

Introduced in 1967 as a bittering agent designed to be dashed into beer, producing the traditional French biere-Picon cocktail. Producer copy confirms the same cinchona bark and gentian bittering base as Picon Amer, built on distilled orange peels with a touch of caramel, though it functions as a flavouring addition to beer rather than a standalone potable amaro, so it is classed family/adjacent.

BOTANICAL MATRIX — 4 GRADED EDGES

  • Orange peel · citrus/bittering baseA·5
  • Cinchona bark · bittering agentA·5
  • Gentian root · bitteringA·5
  • Caramel · colour and light sweetnessA·5

DESCRIPTORS

  • orange ▮▮▮▮▮A·5
  • bitter ▮▮▮▮▮A·5

SERVES

Picon Punch

canonical
  • · 2 oz Picon Amer
  • · Splash of grenadine
  • · Top with soda water
  • · Float of brandy

Build over ice

Picon Brooklyn

producer
  • · Bourbon rye whiskey
  • · Dry vermouth
  • · Picon Amer
  • · Maraschino liqueur

Stir and strain into a Nick & Nora glassA·3

Biere Picon

canonical
  • · Picon (Amer or Picon Biere)
  • · Beer (typically lager)

Dash into a glass of beer

ZONE 04 — COMMUNITY TASTING NOTES

RESERVED — community notes open in V2 with moderation and bias handling. The contributions ledger is already recording.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Where is Amer Picon made?
Amer Picon is made in Marseille, France, and was founded in 1837.
What style of amaro is Amer Picon?
On The Amaro Atlas, Picon Amer is recorded in the core ring, bitter subcategory, within the Gentiane tradition. The producer describes it as "French bitter aperitif".

SOURCES — A–D GRADED (9)

  1. [1]APicon Aperitif — official site · Davide Campari-Milano N.V. · producer-official · accessed 2026-07-05
  2. [2]AOur History — Picon Aperitif · Davide Campari-Milano N.V. · producer-official · accessed 2026-07-05
  3. [3]APicon Amer — product page · Davide Campari-Milano N.V. · producer-official · accessed 2026-07-05
  4. [4]APicon Club — product page · Davide Campari-Milano N.V. · producer-official · accessed 2026-07-05Producer page does not state an ABV figure; 18% corroborated independently by retailer src-rightspirits-club.
  5. [5]APicon Bière — product page · Davide Campari-Milano N.V. · producer-official · accessed 2026-07-05Confirms 18% ABV and explicitly names Cinchona bark extract and gentian in the ingredient blend, alongside orange peel and caramel.
  6. [6]BPicon Club — product listing · Right Spirits · press · accessed 2026-07-08Independent retailer corroboration of 18% ABV for Picon Club, used because the producer's own Picon Club page does not state an ABV figure.
  7. [7]ACampari Group acquires Picon, leading bitter aperitif brand in France · Davide Campari-Milano N.V. · producer-official · accessed 2026-07-05Announces 10 May 2022 acquisition of the Picon brand from Diageo for approximately EUR 119m; confirms Picon Club and Picon Biere (referred to there as Amer Picon Club / Amer Picon Biere) as range products. Does not state ABV for either.
  8. [8]CPicon (apéritif) · Wikipedia · database · accessed 2026-07-05Secondary source; used only for historic ABV reduction timeline (39% original 1837-1954, 30% 1954-1975, 25% 1975-1989, 18% from 1989) and historic gentian/cinchona ratio claim. Infobox owner field is stale (still associated with Diageo) and is superseded by the 2022 Campari acquisition press release. Current live Picon Amer bottling is confirmed 21% ABV by the producer's own product page (src-picon-product), which takes precedence over this source's 18%-since-1989 claim for that specific SKU.
  9. [9]BWhat Is Amer Picon? · Wine Enthusiast · press · accessed 2026-07-05

A producer-official / regulatory · B reputable published · C secondary · D community/unverified