Skip to main content

3 Essential Fernet Cocktails To Make at Home

Not many spirits inspire quite the response that Fernet does. The dark Italian amaro has long been adored by bartenders and certain corners of the world for its incredibly distinctive profile. But for every soul who loves the stuff, there seems to be an equal or greater number of folks who find Fernet utterly repulsive.

The flavor is a bit polarizing and part of the draw is the secret recipe, something quite common among European amaro. It is wildly bitter, with notes of menthol, anise, and fresh-plucked herbs. Fernet is a witches’ brew of chamomile, cardamom, rhubarb, aloe, saffron, and more atop a base of grape spirits. It pours nearly opaque and remains popular among industry types, ever-thirsty for a post-shift drink that’s anything but ordinary.

Recommended Videos

An estimated three-quarters of all Fernet is consumed in Argentina. The South American nation is obsessed with throwing it in a glass with some Coke, or with some coffee or espresso after a meal. Several brands are in orbit with the most popular and iconic being Fernet-Branca. The brand is headquartered is Milan but thanks to all the love it gets in Argentina, has one additional distillery in Buenos Aires.

Fernet-Branca Manhattan Cocktail on Table
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you have bartender friends, you’ve probably already sipped the stuff straight. It’s been a go-to and invigorating pour within the drinks inner-circle for a couple of decades now. But Fernet also mixes well, if you’re careful. It plays well with ingredients like ginger (try it in a Moscow Mule) as well as citrus (also try it with gin or in place of gin in a Tom Collins).  If the flavor is for you, try it with a splash of soda water. If Fernet is too fierce for you, experiment with adding a dose or two to your favorite coffee drink as the roasted beans can take some of the sting out of the stuff.

Here are a few more cocktails to consider as you learn your away around the cultish amaro:

Fernet Manhattan

This riff on the classic cocktail demonstrates how a little Fernet can go a long way in the glass. It matches well with bourbon but does especially well alongside a sweet and aromatic vermouth.

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz bourbon  
  • 1 oz Antica Formula  
  • .25 oz Fernet-Branca  

Method:

In a mixing glass half-filled with ice, combine the bourbon, Antica Formula and Fernet-Branca. Stir until chilled, about 30 seconds. Garnish with a preserved cherry. 

Fernet Old Fashioned

Tempering Fernet can sometimes be an issue but nothing a little sweetness can’t handle. Here, the sugar cube does the heavy lifting, rounding out Fernet’s edgier side.

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz Rye or Bourbon 
  • .25 oz Fernet-Branca 
  • 1 sugar cube 

Method:

In the bottom of a rocks glass, muddle the sugar cube and Fernet-Branca. Add rye or bourbon and a large ice cube and stir until chilled. Garnish with an orange twist.  

Hanky Panky

Gin and Fernet combine to create an extremely fragrant cocktail here, one you can leisurely sniff and enjoy as the many layers meld over time.

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz Fernet-Branca 
  • 1.5 oz gin 
  • .75 oz Antica Formula Vermouth 

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a glass with ice. Stir until well chilled. Strain into a glass.

Topics
Mark Stock
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
How to make a mudslide: Your new favorite dessert cocktail
Who doesn't love a boozy dessert drink?
Mudslide cocktail

Among lots of cocktail fans, the trend is for drinks that are dry, bitter, or extremely boozy, such as a very dry classic martini. However, those drinks aren't to everyone's tastes -- and they aren't the only types of cocktail out there. If you find yourself indifferent to the charms of the strong and bitter drinks you see on most menus, or if you just want to try something new, then there's a whole world of fun and sweet dessert cocktails for you to try.

We’re talking about drinks like the grasshopper, White Russian, espresso martini, and the mudslide. And while we could go into length explaining the intricacies of every one of the cocktails we just mentioned, today we’re most concerned with the mudslide cocktail.
How to make a mudslide

Read more
Master the vodka martini: Tips for a heavenly cocktail
We know James Bond likes his vodka martini shaken, not stirred, how do you like yours?
Vodka martinis with olives

The martini is a beloved cocktail, but it's hard to order one like you know what you're doing. That's because it is a drink that can come in so many forms, and everyone has their own preference for what they like best. There is more than one way to make a martini, and crafting a martini the "proper" way is a subject of debate. Does a martini have to employ gin or vodka? Will the Martini Police pop up out of nowhere if you use vodka instead of gin?

The truth is, neither is wrong. Shocking, right? We know you have a lot of questions, so we spoke with former master mixologist of Beam Suntory, Bobby Gleason, to find out the origins of the vodka martini — a popular twist to the gin martini. And later on, we’re going to learn how to make the best vodka martini in the whole galaxy. Trust us, it's one of the easiest cocktails to master and is perfect for those who want to enjoy a refreshing vodka-based martini without the botanical flavors of gin.
Classic vodka martini recipe

Read more
Tequila and coffee make the perfect pair in these seasonal cocktails
How to combine these two powerful flavors into one drink
tequila coffee seasonal cocktails caf  helado by cantera negra 1

If you love a cup of coffee in the morning, and you love a cocktail in the evening, then why not combine the two into a late-night caffeinated treat? Coffee cocktails are having something of a moment, spurred on by the enormous popularity of the Espresso Martini. But many variations of the Espresso Martini have upped the syrups used, and many of the drinks inspired by this tend toward being sweet. And while there's nothing wrong with a rich, creamy dessert cocktail, that isn't the only way to make use of coffee flavors in your drinks.

As well as fitting with cream and caramel, coffee also goes well with more bracing, bitter flavors. It's often overlooked now, but the Irish Coffee is a classic for combining the hearty bitterness of black coffee with the fruity depths of Irish whiskey. And another spirit which pairs extremely well with coffee is tequila, especially those tequilas which lean toward smokey or savory agave flavors. The darkness of coffee and the mineral and floral notes of a tequila set each other off extremely well.

Read more