As a country lauded for its culinary contributions—pasta, pizza, prosciutto, to name a few—it’s only natural that Italy has made an art form of the finer points of digestion. The timing of what and when Italians eat and drink is key to their daily rituals. And while the pre-dinner practice of aperitivo has been embraced and adopted well beyond Italy, the bookend ritual of digestivo remains uncharted territory for many.

Whereas the role of an aperitivo drink—typically a light, bitter and bubbly affair—is to “open the appetite” for the meal ahead, a bittersweet digestive, often amaro, is consumed after eating to harness its restorative properties that aid in digestion. But precisely what makes a drink suitable for this task is a nebulous thing.

“I’ll enjoy anything you serve me after a meal, from Cognac to Madeira, but for me the defining characteristic of a digestive is an obvious bitter quality,” says Sother Teague, beverage director of Overthrow Hospitality, which includes New York’s temple to all things bitter, Amor y Amargo. For Jason LaValla, founder of Casamara Club, which produces a line of nonalcoholic, amaro-inspired sodas, the key characteristic lies not in a specific flavor. “What makes a digestivo a digestivo to me has so much more to do with culture and context, the passing down of these secret handshakes between friends and family,” he says.

Indeed, across Europe, the after-dinner drink takes many forms, including fortified wines (port, sherry, sweet vermouth), herbal liqueurs (Chartreuse, sambuca, Bénédictine), sweet liqueurs (limoncello) and aged spirits (grappa, brandy, eau de vie, Scotch, whiskey). In the United States, meanwhile, coffee, dessert and an after-dinner drink are typically grouped together in a gut-busting grand finale. But Italians build up to a meal’s bittersweet finish, first with dolce—which could be a slice of cake, cookies, tiramisu or a palate-cleansing sorbetto—followed by a penultimate serving of espresso after dessert has been cleared, then ammazzacaffè (“coffee killer”), the final act otherwise known as digestivo.

While this methodical progression hasn’t been fully adopted stateside, the increased real estate of amari on menus is a move in the right direction. Brian Bartels, an owner and bartender at Settle Down Tavern and Oz by Oz in Madison, Wisconsin, welcomes the ways in which Americans are interpreting the traditions and rituals of Italian amari through their own distinctive lenses. “I truly believe in the magical properties of amaro and all its mystical, myriad ingredients,” Bartels says. At his self-described “cocktail snackeasy” Oz by Oz, amaro is served neat in both rocks glasses and ornate tulip glasses. “People enjoy both versions,” he points out. “But since this is Wisconsin, most people enjoy sipping on them while having a cocktail as their sidecar.”

As we head into the season of holiday gatherings, consider embracing digestivo as a way to extend an evening around the table—the benefits can be manifold. “I know that term is often associated with any drink that soothes the stomach after a meal, but I really celebrate the physiological influence of an after-dinner beverage, or the last drink of the day, and that extends beyond the stomach,” says Bartels. “A digestivo is anything that reconnects my stomach to my heart, my limbs, my shoulders and (hopefully not too much) to my head.”