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Fernet

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Several brands of fernet sold in Argentina. From left to right: Cinzano, Luxardo, Ramazzotti, 1882, Branca and Martini.

Fernet (Italian pronunciation: [ferˈnɛt]) is an Italian type of amaro, a bitter, aromatic spirit. Fernet is made from a number of herbs and spices which vary according to the brand, but usually include myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and especially saffron,[1] with a base of grape distilled spirits.

Fernet is usually served as a digestif after a meal but may also be served with coffee and espresso or mixed into coffee and espresso drinks. It typically contains 45% alcohol by volume. It may be served at room temperature or with ice.

While the Italian liqueur has a cult following in the international bartending community, it is immensely popular in Argentina.[2] The South American country consumes more than 75% of all fernet produced globally[3] and because of its popularity, it has Fratelli Branca's only distillery outside of Italy.[2] As it is traditionally mixed with Coke, fernet has also contributed in making Argentina one of the biggest consumers of Coca-Cola in the world.[3] Fernet and Coke (Spanish: fernet con coca) is so ubiquitous in Argentina that it has been described as "the country's unofficial drink".[2]

Popularity

In Argentina

Fernet was introduced to Argentina by Italians during the Great European immigration wave to the country.[4] It is particularly associated with Córdoba Province, which has been called "the world fernet capital"; almost 3 million litres are consumed there annually, representing just under 30 percent of national consumption.[5] National production is around 25 million liters, 35% sold in Buenos Aires Province and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.[6][7] Fernet-Branca is by far the most popular brand in the country, leading the market and reaching a "mythical" status among Argentines.[8] Other popular brands include 1882, Capri, Ramazzotti and Vittone.[5]

Fernet is commonly mixed with Coca-Cola, a mixed drink known as fernet con coca (Spanish for "fernet and Coke") or fernando.[8][9] This drink was popularized during the mid-1980s encouraged by advertisements of Fratelli Branca in Buenos Aires TV stations with national scope,[10] its popularity growing steadily ever since.[11] In fact, fernet has had the highest growth in consumption in the last 10 years.[4] The popularity of fernet is so strong that many bars in Buenos Aires have removed it from their menus to encourage consumption of more expensive drinks.[4]

In San Francisco

The drink has been popular in the San Francisco Bay Area since before Prohibition.[1] In 2008, San Francisco accounted for 25% of US consumption.[12] San Francisco bars usually serve fernet as a shot followed by a ginger ale chaser.[1]

In the Czech Republic

The Fernet Stock brand is very popular in the Czech Republic, where it is manufactured. It is often served as shots or as part of different cocktails.

Cocktails

Fernet can be mixed into cocktails, though the strong taste can overwhelm other ingredients. It can replace bitters in recipes; for instance, the Fanciulli cocktail is a Manhattan with fernet instead of Angostura bitters.[13]

The chef Fergus Henderson offers a recipe, entitled both "A Miracle" and "Dr. Henderson" that approximates Branca Menta by combining two parts fernet with one part crème de menthe over ice. The recipe describes this cocktail as a cure for overindulgence.[14]

Fernet receives a mention in the novel Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald.[a]

"Two Fernet please"—a drink order in Le notti di Cabiria (Nights of Cabiria), directed by Federico Fellini—1957 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

In The Sopranos Season 1 Episode 5 "College," the character Carmela Soprano tells her priest that she was "having a little fernet. It settles the system."[15]

It forms the titular subject of James Hamilton-Paterson's 2004 novel of Tuscany expatriate life, Cooking with Fernet Branca. [16]

In the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth remembers himself sitting in Florence, Italy, drinking a Fernet Branca.[17]

Fernet-Branca is mentioned in the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.[b]

Fernet was reported to be the favorite drink of 2007 U.S. Open (golf) winner Ángel Cabrera.[18]

In Scandal season 6, episode 6 "96. Extinction (2017)," the character Eli Pope, while reminiscing about the past with Sandra, prepares her "a drink," a very tall pour, and plays a Marvin Gaye record. A bottle of Fernet is visible on the table during the whole scene and its label can be read clearly as the camera zooms in to cuts away.

The novelist Jilly Cooper frequently has her characters take Fernet Branca as a "hair of the dog" hangover cure.

The Austin, Texas band Mike and the Moonpies mentions Fernet in their latest single, "You Look Good in Neon".

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fernet.

Notes

  1. ^ "Silence while he stared at a shelf that held the humbler poisons of France—bottles of Otard, Rhum St. James, Marie Brizzard, Punch Orangeade, Andre Fernet Blanco, Cherry Rochet, and Armagnac."
  2. ^ "Hobie had an iron constitution; whenever he came down with anything himself, he drank a Fernet-Branca and kept going."

References

  1. ^ a b c Cavalieri, Nate (2005-12-07). "The Myth of Fernet". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ a b c Compton, Natalie B. (November 26, 2018). "How Fernet Took Over Argentina". Vice. Vice Media. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Lahrichi, Kamilia (March 14, 2017). "Argentina loves its Fernet, a bitter Italian liquor". CNN Travel. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Petovel, Pablo (1 January 2013). "Todo lo que hay que saber sobre el fernet" (in Spanish). Día a Día. Contenidos Mediterráneos. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b Marchetti, Nicolás (15 October 2015). "Eligieron el mejor fernet de Argentina y no es el que estás pensando" (in Spanish). La Voz del Interior. Clarín Group. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  6. ^ "El fenómeno fernet". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  7. ^ "Los argentinos vuelven al vermouth y al whisky importado". Clarín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2008-02-14.
  8. ^ a b "EBranca reconoce que la mezcla de fernet con Coca nació en Córdoba" (in Spanish). La Voz del Interior. Clarín Group. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  9. ^ Rathbun, A. J. (2009). Dark Spirits: 200 Classy Concoctions Starring Bourbon, Brandy, Scotch, Whiskey, Rum and Morse. Harvard Common Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-55832-427-5.
  10. ^ Advertisements of Channel 9, Bs.As., circa end 1987 beginnings 1988. See time 10:43 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN-eX0DfwYk
  11. ^ Vecino, Diego. "Fernet: una historia de amor argentina". Conexión Brando. La Nación. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  12. ^ Curtis, Wayne (November 2008). "The Bitter Beginning: Learning to love a bracing Italian liqueur". The Atlantic.
  13. ^ Felten, Eric (2009-01-03). "Making Bitter Fernet-Branca Much Easier to Swallow". Wall Street Journal.
  14. ^ Henderson, Fergus (April 2004). The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating. Ecco. ISBN 0-06-058536-6.
  15. ^ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/12/fernet-the-best-liquor-youre-still-not-yet-drinking/250381/
  16. ^ Michael Dibdin (19 June 2004). "Strange brew". The Guardian.
  17. ^ Watercutter, Angela (2012-07-20). "9 Unintentional Dark Knight Rises Lessons". Wired.
  18. ^ Shipnuck, Alan (2009-04-20). "Angel Cabrera emerged from a drama-filled final round at the Masters with his second major title". Golf.com. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
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