Moving states for your career is a BIG transition. But what if your family also runs an entire liquor business? Do you pack it up and bring it with you, or do you leave it behind? For the Scalabrino’s, that was a decision they needed to make.
We caught up with Navy Veteran and Milwaukee transplant Anthony Scalabrino, who started Oak City Amaretto in 2019 out of Raleigh, North Carolina. Three years ago, his wife Miranda got a job offer in Milwaukee; they took it and now call the 414 home, but up until last year, their family-run amaretto company was still operating out of Raleigh. Now, a year later, they’ve brought production and bottling of Oak City Amaretto to Wisconsin – partnering with Central Standard.
We wanted to learn more about this special amaretto, the challenges that come with building a liquor business, and how Wisconsin has become a natural haven for the brand.
How did Oak City Amaretto get its start? What is your background?
Oak City Amaretto was born from a passion to serve others.
My Sicilian grandmother, Grandma Scalabrino created the recipe because my Grandpa said he liked an amaretto he had once and grandma said “I can make that”. It quickly became a Christmas tradition, with grandma making a bottle for my Dad and Uncle John, as well as, each cousin of age.
The path to creating Oak City Amaretto is unique: I’m a Navy veteran who flew the P-3C Orion for almost ten years. The business actually started while I was on my shore tour teaching Naval ROTC and getting my Master’s in Computer Networks. I took a distillery tour in Raleigh, and something told me to ask if I could make Grandma’s recipe there. Nine years later, here we are. That’s an abridged version as there are so many fun unique start-up stories that led to the product you see on the shelves today.
How long have you been in business? Have you faced any major challenges with growing your business or any triumph stories?
Oak City Amaretto turned 9 years old in April 2026!
However, I have only been with it full-time since March 2026 (I’ve worked in tech since leaving the Navy in December 2019). The challenges have been numerous: for the first five years my wife and I made every bottle by hand. We bootstrapped the entire operation and have been profitable since day one; however, that doesn’t mean we didn’t encounter setbacks or need to invest more capital in the business. We’ve had co-packers who’ve tried to withhold our money, one time we bottled nearly 250 bottles only to find we hadn’t mixed it well enough, so we were just bottling sugar water (because the alcohol rose to the top of the tote). I’ve run forklift forks into finished pallets of bottles or pallets of 50lb bags of sugar. We’ve had the Federal Government disapprove a minor label change after we already printed thousands of labels, we survived covid, we are dealing with tariffs, and much more.
The big triumph: besides bringing production from Raleigh, NC to Milwaukee, WI in June 2025, this past year we won a 2026 Good Food Award and a Silver Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, one of only a handful of winners from Wisconsin.
What is Oak City Amaretto, and why did you feel it would be a good fit in Milwaukee?
Our amaretto stands out because we don’t use artificial coloring or caramel coloring. It’s an all-natural, handcrafted amaretto with notes of cherry and molasses up front that linger into an almondy apricot finish that is not too cloying or bitey.
Like most things in my life, frequent moving has been the catalyst for change. We moved to Milwaukee three years ago for my wife, Miranda’s, career and brought the whole business with us two years later to ensure quality control and improve production capacity, and honestly, we lucked out. Milwaukee’s supper club and craft spirit and general drinking culture turned out to be a perfect home for it. It’s produced right here at Central Standard Distillery.
What’s the mission behind Oak City Amaretto?
We’re on a mission to ensure no one feels like a stranger. Everyone’s welcome at our table.
What is it like being a small business in MKE?
Small businesses automatically have an uphill battle. They are “fighting” against the current of well established businesses and brands. This is especially true in the liquor industry, particularly when the economy is shrinking or plateauing.
We are so glad we found a home here. We’ve been welcomed by many in the community, especially Visit Milwaukee who has been an absolute godsend of a resource for us.
We’ve actually done some pretty cool partnerships already: Carrie’s Crispies and a special cocktail and dining night at Ester Ev with Dan Jacobs.
Being a disabled Navy Veteran has posed some unique challenges but also some advantages. and the Milwaukee small-business community has been incredibly welcoming. Thankfully the Midwest has always been an anchor (Navy pun) for supporting veterans (I grew up in MI).
What’s your favorite part about what you’re doing?
Watching someone’s face when they taste it and realize amaretto can actually be good. Ultimately, it’s been amazing how fast total strangers start to feel like famiglia. I regularly text with people who I met once at a sampling and we have bonded over a common passion, military service, or a love of spirits.
Anything else we should know about your business or anything you’d like to mention? Any favorite stories?
Of course, my core childhood and fondest memories revolve around the dinner table, which always featured a massive Italian feast ending with cookies and amaretto. Our family always ate dinner together, even though we all had something going on; sports, work, friends visiting, etc.
I don’t think people truly understand how difficult it is to be an entrepreneur. Frankly, I am not sure I would have started the business if I knew the challenges present in liquor, especially in a controlled state such as NC. Somehow I just kept grinding and started a business while still being in the military and obtaining my graduate degree. One of my earliest memories that will stick with me is the kindness of my now friend, Jeff on how “we” (mostly him) hand built a 250 gallon tank with legs, mixer, and heating elements to upgrade our initial 120-quart stainless steel mixing pan on an induction cooktop. Community is EVERYTHING to us.
I have plenty of fun deployment stories: my deployments to the desert in Djibouti, Africa, where I met some of the kindest and most loving people who worked as staff on base. Or when our plane broke down in Cabo Verde (shout out to their success in the 2026 World Cup!). One of my favorite detachments on deployment was in Scotland. We had a blast in-between missions, even though we had to drive an hour from Loch Ness area to the base and back. That’s when I discovered my love of haggis and scotch. As a military aircraft nerd, I had the opportunity to fly in both an F-15 Eagle and a F-16 Falcon, both dreams come true.
We’d love your support. Buy a bottle today.
Find out where to buy on our website: https://www.oakcityamaretto.com/#buy
Grazie!