Italians know how to soothe a full stomach after a big meal: Have a swig of restorative amari like Averna, Cynar or Fernet. But these bittersweet digestifs are just as good in cocktails as they are on their own.

Made from a dizzying array of herbs, roots, flowers, bark, spices and other ingredients, amari add an herbal complexity to classic drinks, and bartenders across the country--and here in L.A.--have taken notice.

Cynar, a dark brown digestif made of 13 ingredients--including artichoke--lends a unique earthy flavor to The Tar Pit's Little Italy ($12), Audrey Saunder's twist on the Manhattan.

At The Tasting Kitchen on Abbot Kinney, the appropriately named Cure-All ($13) is a pungent concoction of Fernet, rye whiskey and myrtleberry liqueur. And the Library Bar's signature Negroni ($15) gets a little extra bite from Averna instead of Campari.

Leave it to the Roger Room to spotlight the more common knockoff of Amer Picon, a pecan-flavored French liqueur that's difficult to find in the States. The Pecan Millionaire ($12)--made with Torani Amer, pomegranate juice, vodka and Punt e Mes vermouth--will make you feel like a million bucks (click here to download the recipe).