Fernet February
If you’ve been following Barrelly Palatable on Instagram, you may know that February was designated “Fernet February” (by me, no one else had a say in it!)
Each Friday, I tried a new cocktail recipe containing fernet, as a way to get an understanding of what it tasted like and how it worked with other flavors.
Before this undertaking, I had no idea there was even a thing called “fernet” much less what it was or what the flavor profile was!
So how did this come about, you ask?
Well earlier in the year, Matt and I had been perusing our favorite liquor store and as we approached the checkout line, heavily laden, there happened to be a wonderfully positioned sale bin nearby. Of course we had a poke through the contents, and we came up with a bottle of fernet.
Matt had some inkling that it was maybe an Italian liquor, and we generally like other Italian aperitifs and digestifs we’ve had, so we added it to our take. Thus the fernet journey began!
So, what is it?
If you’ve never heard of it before now, don’t worry, there’s a club of us. Fernet (pronounced “fair-nay”) is a type of Italian amaro. If you’re not sure what an amaro is, think Campari, which is the most well-known of the Italian amaros. It’s a bitter, herbaceous, aromatic spirit, that’s said to have medicinal properties.
Fernet ranges from 40-45 percent alcohol, so it definitely packs more of a punch than the other bitters out on the market.
There are plenty of different brands that make their own fernet and each one has its own unique blend of spices. (Note: this means fernet is not like Campari or Kleenex which is the name of the product and the brand.) The most common spices to include are myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and saffron, but some recipes go up to 40 different ingredients!
Isn’t it called “Fernet-Branca” though?
Oh, so you have heard of it!
Well, while fernet itself is a liqueur not a brand, Fernet-Branca is exactly that: it’s the most well-known brand of fernet on the market. And maybe that’s because of its long history; the brand recently celebrated it’s 175th birthday!
It was started in 1845 in Milan by Bernardino Branca who started the Fratelli Branca Distillerie. The company still uses its same secret recipe today, and apparently it’s so secret that it can only be accessed by the company’s chairman, which has always been handed from father to son.
How it’s made
This part really surprised me: fernet is not actually a distilled spirit!
It does utilize a distilled spirit as its base, but instead of adding the herbs, roots, etc. to a special section of the still as the steam passes through it during the distillation process - which is how many gins are made - fernet is actually produced by infusing these botanicals. Think along the lines of a tincture or infused olive oil.
This process takes longer than the distillation process, but I think many would say it’s worth the wait.
The base of fernet is a distilled grape spirit, usually brandy, but the producers try to keep it as neutral as possible, as the showstoppers are the herbs and spices used.
Give me the backstory
Fernet and its most popular brand were both started in Milan, Italy in the 1800s. And while that may be where its origin story took place, that’s not the country where it most thrived.
Fernet made its way across the world and put down deep roots in - of all places - Argentina! The drink has such a cult following there now that it’s actually considered the national drink.
If you’ve never had fernet before and want to give it a try, I think you need to first try it the classic Argentinian way: fernet con coca. Also called the Fernando, this is just fernet in Coca Cola. This became insanely popular in the 1980’s due to a heavy wave of ads by Fratelli Branca across national Argentinian television, and has only increased in consumption since then. In Córdoba Province it’s estimated that three million liters of fernet are consumed annually!
More about those medicinal properties, please
Sorry to burst any bubbles, but drinking fernet is not about to cure all that ails you.
Fernet falls under the digestif category, which is a group of beverages that are said to soothe upset stomaches. Literally meaning “digestive” in French, these drinks are commonly served after meals as a way to aid in digestion. Why? Common ingredients such as caraway and fennel are said to be beneficial for the digestive system, as is a small amount of alcohol as it stimulates the production of certain enzymes in the stomach and pancreas.
So, while back in the days of Mr. Bernardino Branca, the drink was actually promoted as an elixir meant to cure stomach bugs, but also nervous disorders and cholera (!), today we’ve relegated it back to an after dinner tipple, as it should be.
How to use it
While I won’t go so far as to say that fernet should be a staple in your home bar (especially if you live in the U.S.) it does offer a different herby quality to cocktails you don’t get many other ways.
First, as I said above, try it with cola. This drink is so big in Argentina, aren’t you just a little curious?
After enjoying it that way, I’d recommend ordering a small shot, sipping it of course. This will be the best way to get a feel for the dominant flavors and aromas in the brand you chose. You’ll also highly impress your bartender! I’ve read ordering just a plain shot of it is called “the bartender’s handshake” in San Fransisco, as bartenders in the early 2000s took a particular liking to the liqueur. This was mainly because no one ever ordered it and the bottle is a very dark color, so no one could really see if a shot or two was missing (or at least that’s the rumor, anyway).
Another popular cocktail using fernet is the Toronto, which is said to be a good way to “get into” fernet as it just includes a small splash of the spirit, and is very similar to a classic Manhattan.
Personally, my favorite way to drink it was with rum. The menthol/minty quality of it goes really well as an addition to a classic Mojito cocktail. It enhanced the minty flavor and added a great herby complexity.
Weekly adventure
This task should be fairly obvious - go out and find yourself some fernet! Or at the very least have a little digestif after dinner.
Cheers,
Molly
References
https://ryanmurdock.com/2012/02/do-aperitifs-and-digestifs-really-work/
https://www.foodandwine.com/cocktails-spirits/what-is-fernet
https://www.tastingtable.com/693496/fernet-branca-amaro-italian-liqueur-guide/