It is the typical spring here. Super sunny and hot for a few days and then raining for a week. But the temperature is up and you can now wear shorts and dresses, which is nice. I would love if we had had more of an in-between season here and wouldn’t have to go from a puffer coat to a sundress in the time of one week. With the warm season, the days of sitting on the balcony and enjoying an iced coffee or a cold cocktail. Spring has always been spritz season in Italy, in Europe, and in the rest of the world. This Fernet Branca spritz is an ode to the oncoming summer, the bitter Amari, and the end of an era.
Just look at these beautiful vintage glasses…
What is fernet Branca good for?
From a stomach ache, restlessness, insomnia, sadness to anything you can imagine, can be cured with a shot of Fernet. Now, understand that this is a joke. Rooted deeply in the long history of herbal liqueurs. It is great for cocktails or drunk straight, nowadays. Fernet Branca cocktails are gaining popularity.
Each country, culture, and region have their own herbal liqueurs, bitters, tinctures, and Amari / amaro. While different versions exist throughout the world, amaro is specifically Italian. It is made from infusing base alcohol (grape brandy, neutral spirits, or wine) with a proprietary blend of herbs, roots, flowers, and spices. The concoction is aged in casks or bottles for various amounts of time, and the finished product can be anywhere from 16-40% alcohol by volume. – A bar above
What can I mix with Fernet Branca?
Sparkling wine or prosecco, vermouths, tonic, fresh citrus juices, tea, and even other spirits are great with fernet Branca. Just remember that it is a bitter, herbal liqueur.
In this Fernet Branca spritz, we mix the amaro with fresh orange juice, some simple syrup, and prosecco. This is an easy long drink, perfect after a hot drink, and favored by those who do not love sweet drinks.
Can you drink Fernet Branca straight?
Often enjoyed from a cold shot glass or snifter, Fernet is drinking as a digestive after dinner. While in the cocktail form you can enjoy it during any part of the meal.
When I was working in bars, we had these drinks that we would drink in shot glasses with fellow friends of the industry. They are called the bartender’s handshake. While in Riga it was mostly Riga black balsam, tequila, or rum, in many parts of the world it had become traditional to drink shots of Fernet Branca. Thus, it becoming the ultimate bartender’s handshake. While most bartenders couldn’t really answer how is fernet served, because it is more likely to be in stock for themselves than cocktails, it doesn’t mean there aren’t wonderful drinks you can make with it.
This cocktail represents the end of an era for me. One week ago the lockdown ban of bars was lifted and they can open their doors, well not really, they can open their terraces. Outdoor dining is now allowed. After 6 months, all these people and all these places, well, the ones that stayed alive, can open again. In these 6 months, I learned several new skills, found new jobs, learned to take better photography, and closed my own bar. It stood for 10 years, I worked there for 8, and owned it for the last 2. The end was inevitable and actually should’ve happened quite a while ago, which would have been easier. But life doesn’t work that way.
So, with everyone opening the bars and getting to work, even at 10% capacity, it is a very interesting feeling to not be doing that. Even though I have won several bartending and cocktail competitions, gotten to know hundreds of people, and tasted some amazing spirits, not to mention many crazy adventures, I had also reached the end of my potential in the industry in my country at least. So, for now, I will be making delicious and amazing drinks at home and sharing my tips and tricks with you.
Let’s have a shot of Fernet Branca for all the brothers and sisters of the industry who have fought through, and whose fight is still not over. Without the food and drink of the world, what culture would we really have?
Now, to get back to the topic of the Fernet Branca spritz and end my emotional rant, let’s make the cocktail!
Fernet Branca spritz
Ingredients
2x Fernet Branca spritz
- 80 ml Fernet Branca
- 100 ml fresh orange juice
- 50 ml simple syrup/sugar syrup
- Prosecco to top up
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice add the fernet, orange juice, and the sugar syrup
- Shake and strain in a cocktail glass filled with fresh ice
- Top up with prosecco
Now that you know what to do with fernet Branca liqueur, just purchase a bottle and keep it in the fridge!
Cheers to that!