One of the great joys of joining the mixology community is learning about the history, secrets, and traditions beloved by cocktail enthusiasts around the world. Enter fernet, a spirit steeped in lore and given new life during the modern cocktail renaissance, particularly during the last decade. One of the best-kept secrets behind the American bar, this Italian bitter is a fan favorite in parts of Europe and South America. Stateside, the ultra-dense amaro (think really bitter) is so notorious among devotees that bartenders use it like a secret code to communicate their membership in the beverage service community, often earning a free drink in the process.
What’s Fernet Made From?
Like all amari, fernet is a mixture of herbs, barks, and botanicals blended with distilled wine. While each brand of fernet is distinctive and has a unique recipe, common ingredients include saffron, quinine, myrrh, aloe, cardamom, Anjelica, and rhubarb. Due to its high alcohol content, fernet is most often used as a seasoning in cocktails, though it is also served straight as a digestif. First created as a medicinal, the history of fernet is similar to that of most bitters. Prior to the mid-19th century, fernet was most often used as a treatment for cholera and other, less serious, digestive complaints. This changed with the founding of the Fratelli Branca distillery in Milan in 1845, which led to an explosion of popularity of their signature amaro, Fernet Branca.
Where Did Fernet Originate?
While fernet is a digestif mainstay in Italy, where it is often served after dinner with coffee, this pungent liqueur is even more beloved in Argentina, where it became a valued export during the Italian migration to South America during the early 20th century. Home to the only non-Italian distillery licensed to produce Fernet-Branca, Argentina’s signature cocktail is the fernet con coca, also known as the Fernando, a feisty libation composed of fernet and Coke. Fernet is so ingrained in Argentinian culture that the country consumes the majority of the global supply of Fernet-Branca every year.
Bartenders Obsession With Fernet
Fernet first gained a foothold in the United States in San Francisco, where this bitter beauty has been served with a ginger ale chaser since the era of Prohibition. While fernet remains a popular spirit in the Golden City, its reputation now precedes it in bars across the country, and it has garnered notoriety with a devoted following of admirers. Indeed, the spirit is so en vogue with the mixology community that pouring a shot of fernet for a fellow mixologist is known as a bartender’s handshake. Fernet-Branca even achieved underground cult status in 2013 with the production of Fernet-Branca challenge coins, a riff on the military tradition of using specially-minted, collectible coins to commemorate significant events within the community. Very limited in number (there are about 1500 in circulation, worldwide), Fernet-Branca coins are the ultimate “in” among those in the know.
Fernet in Cocktails
While fernet can be consumed straight or over ice, it is most palatable in a cocktail–especially for the uninitiated. Often described as an acquired taste, fernet has a strongly bitter flavor punctuated by mellower notes of caramel, mint, coffee, and burnt citrus. It packs a punch and pairs well with other bold flavors, like juniper, which explains the popularity of the London-born Hanky-Panky cocktail, which features two dashes of fernet mixed with gin and sweet vermouth. Another cocktail that highlights fernet’s questionable virtues is the Fanciulli, an Italian ode to the Manhattan featuring Fernet-Branca, sweet vermouth, and bourbon. Or you could always go with a Bartender’s Handshake–welcome to the club!
