Fernet-Branca
The bitterest bottle behind the bar, and precisely for that reason a cult drink among bartenders. Everything about the herbs, the alcohol content, how to drink it and the glass that goes with it.
A Milanese bitter spanning five generations
Fernet-Branca has been made by Fratelli Branca in Milan since 1845, and the recipe has not changed in five generations. It consists of more than 27 herbs and spices from four continents, including myrrh, chamomile, saffron, gentian root, rhubarb and aloe. These are infused in alcohol, after which the mixture matures for months in oak barrels.
The result is one of the bitterest drinks there is: intensely herbal, mentholated and completely unsweet, at 39% alcohol. In Italy, it is the classic digestif after a meal; in Argentina, it is widely mixed with cola as a 'Fernandito', and in bars from San Francisco to Amsterdam, a shot of Fernet is considered the unofficial drink of bar staff among themselves.
In brief
Fernet-Branca and similar herbal bitters
Fernet-Branca is the bitterest of the bunch. If you want the same style but somewhat milder, these are the logical steps.
Fernet-Branca
The original from Milan: more than 27 herbs, intensely bitter and mentholated, with no sweetness at all. Ice-cold in a small glass.
Ramazzotti Amaro
Italy's oldest true amaro house, with 33 herbs and sweet Sicilian and bitter curaçao orange peel. Bittersweet and much more approachable.
Vecchio Amaro del Capo
Calabrian herbal liqueur with 29 ingredients, including orange, liquorice, chamomile and juniper. Served ice-cold from the freezer.
Becherovka
Not Italian, but in the same vein: a Bohemian herbal bitter with distinct ginger and cinnamon. Serve well chilled.
Start with Ramazzotti; Fernet is the most bitter of them all.
Intensely bitter, herbal and mentholated
Menthol & herbs
Mint, myrrh and medicinal herbs, with saffron and an earthy undertone. Honestly, it smells like a pharmacy, and that is the point.
Very bitter and dry
Directly and intensely bitter from gentian, rhubarb and aloe, with menthol that cools the mouth. It contains hardly any sugar.
Long and refreshing
A long, dry finish with mint and herbs that lingers for minutes. Exactly what you want after a heavy meal.
Fernet-Branca flavor profile. Ramazzotti scores clearly higher on sweetness and lower on herbal notes; Amaro del Capo falls somewhere in between.
Three ways to drink Fernet-Branca
Fernet is a digestif: a small glass after a meal, ice-cold. If you find the bitterness too intense, mix it with cola or tonic.
Neat after a meal
3 to 4 cl, ice-cold, in a small shot glass after a heavy meal. The cold softens the bitterness just enough and the menthol refreshes. This is how they drink it in Milan.
Glass: shot glass →As a Fernandito, with cola
Pour 50 ml Fernet-Branca with 150 ml cola over plenty of ice in a tumbler, with a lemon wedge. In Argentina, it is the national mixed drink; the cola balances the bitterness just right.
Glass: tumbler →In a Hanky Panky
Stir 45 ml gin, 45 ml sweet vermouth and two bar spoons of Fernet-Branca with ice, then strain into a coupe. The bitterness elevates the cocktail without overpowering it.
To the recipe →The best cocktails with Fernet-Branca
Use Fernet in small quantities in cocktails: a few bar spoons are enough to do the trick.
Hanky Panky
Gin, sweet vermouth and two bar spoons of Fernet. Created at the Savoy Bar in London.
Negroni
Gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. A splash of Fernet makes it even drier and more herbal.
Americano
Campari, sweet vermouth and soda. Bittersweet and low in alcohol.
Boulevardier
Whiskey, Campari and sweet vermouth. The warmer, stronger cousin of the Negroni.The right glass for Fernet-Branca
A small shot glass for drinking it neat after a meal, a tumbler for the Fernandito with cola, and a coupe for the Hanky Panky. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about Fernet-Branca
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