Local Jay S.
Yelp
We really love what's happening in North Kansas City these days. Over the last two years they've seen an incredible increase in the number of entertainment venues that have opened up. The indoor climbing gym is often credited with starting it all, and since then several breweries and distilleries have come, new bars, new restaurants, Chicken n Pickle and now Old Shawnee Pizza.
These interesting and creative businesses along Swift and Armour have come together as a business league and call themselves River North. The name may not be original, but many of the businesses there you won't find anywhere else in the city.
So, when we heard a liquor store was opening where Le Monde Bakery recently vacated, we were a little apprehensive. We pictured a tight, boring, florescent-lit storefront with rows of white grocery store shelves. So when, Mitch e Amaro opened its doors at 306 Armour, we were elated.
Let me unpack this a bit. An Amaro is a bitter-sweet after dinner liqueur of which there are several. Ben & Josh Edwards, proprietors of Mitch e Amaro, are Amaro enthusiasts. In fact they are just cocktail enthusiasts in general with a particular affinity for Amari (plural of Amaro - I just learned that) and other liqueurs.
So they gathered up their passions and their capital and open a very avant garde liquor store in an equally unorthodox business district.
Ben & Josh have curated a selection of what they consider the most enticing and flavorful liqueurs. But they didn't stop there. On the dark floors of Mitch e Amaro stand stout, dark wood shelves and tables holding not only the assembled Amari, but also hand selected whiskeys, gins, mezcals and rums.
So you can go there and pick up a bottle and go. But you'd really be missing the point of the whole joint.
You see, The Edwards' love the art of the cocktail. And perhaps more than that, they encourage that love in others. So they have also filled Mitch e Amaro with a library of how-to and history books on cocktails and mixology as well as all the tools you might need to effectuate your own at-home cocktail making.
But wait, there's more. What if you come in and say something like, "Hey Ben, what's the best tonic to mix with Monkey 47 Schwartzwald Sloe Gin"? Ben is very likely to escort you to the back corner of the store where they a fully operational and well-stocked bar. There he may occasion a couple of sample pours to help answer your question.
To begin your very own cocktail quest, visit mitcheamaro.com.
Mitch e Amaro in North Kansas City's burgeoning River North district. It's not a liquor store, its a cocktail learning center.