fernet
{{Short description|Type of amaro, a bitter, aromatic spirit}}
File:Ferneses.jpg, Luxardo, Ramazzotti, 1882, Fernet-Branca, and Martini.]]
Fernet ({{IPA|it|ferˈnɛt|lang}}) 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,{{Cite news |last=Cavalieri |first=Nate |date=2005-12-07 |title=The Myth of Fernet |work=SF Weekly |url=http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/the-myth-of-fernet/Content?oid=2158526 |url-status=live |access-date=2020-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221223603/http://www.sfweekly.com/2005-12-07/news/the-myth-of-fernet/full |archive-date=21 February 2007}} with a base of distilled grape 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 may be served at room temperature or with ice.
The Italian liqueur Fernet-Branca, developed in 1845, has a cult following in the international bartending community and is immensely popular in Argentina and Southern Brazil.{{Cite web |last=Compton |first=Natalie B. |date=November 26, 2018 |title=How Fernet Took Over Argentina |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-fernet-took-over-argentina/ |access-date=June 12, 2019 |website=Vice |publisher=Vice Media}} Argentina consumes more than 75% of all fernet produced globally and, due to the product's popularity, also has Fratelli Branca's only distillery outside of Italy. 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.{{Cite web |last=Lahrichi |first=Kamilia |date=March 14, 2017 |title=Argentina loves its Fernet, a bitter Italian liquor |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/fernet-alcohol-argentina/index.html |access-date=June 12, 2019 |publisher=CNN Travel}} Fernet and Coke (Spanish: fernet con coca) is so ubiquitous in Argentina that it has been described as "the country's unofficial drink". This combination is called fernandito.
Popularity
=In Argentina=
{{See also|Fernet con coca}}
File:Fernet and Coke (Fernet con Coca).jpg (English: Fernet and Coke), a cultural icon of Argentina]]
Fernet was introduced to Argentina by Italians during the Great European immigration wave to the country of the late 19th century and early 20th century.{{Cite web |last=Petovel |first=Pablo |date=1 January 2013 |title=Todo lo que hay que saber sobre el fernet |url=http://www.diaadia.com.ar/cordoba/todo-lo-que-hay-que-saber-sobre-fernet |access-date=20 March 2016 |publisher=Día a Día. Contenidos Mediterráneos |language=es}} It is particularly associated with Córdoba Province, which has been called "the world fernet capital"; almost three million litres are consumed there annually, representing just under 30 percent of national consumption.{{Cite web |last=Marchetti |first=Nicolás |date=15 October 2015 |title=Eligieron el mejor fernet de Argentina y no es el que estás pensando |url=http://vos.lavoz.com.ar/comer-y-beber/eligieron-el-mejor-fernet-de-argentina-y-no-es-el-que-estas-pensando |access-date=20 March 2016 |publisher=La Voz del Interior. Clarín Group |language=es}} National production is around 25 million liters, with 35% sold in Buenos Aires city and province.{{Cite news |title=El fenómeno fernet |language=es |work=Clarín |url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/06/02/conexiones/t-988028.htm |access-date=2014-08-11 |archive-date=2009-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308153725/http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/06/02/conexiones/t-988028.htm |url-status=dead }}{{Cite news |title=Los argentinos vuelven al vermouth y al whisky importado |language=es |work=Clarín |url=http://www.ieco.clarin.com/notas/2008/02/11/01603486.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214124444/http://www.ieco.clarin.com/notas/2008/02/11/01603486.html |archive-date=2008-02-14}} Fernet-Branca is by far the most popular brand in the country, leading the market and reaching a "mythical" status among Argentines.{{Cite web |date=3 May 2013 |title=EBranca reconoce que la mezcla de fernet con Coca nació en Córdoba |url=http://www.lavoz.com.ar/ciudadanos/branca-reconoce-que-mezcla-fernet-con-coca-nacio-cordoba |access-date=20 March 2016 |publisher=La Voz del Interior. Clarín Group |language=es}} Other popular brands include 1882, Capri, Ramazzotti and Vittone.
Fernet is commonly mixed with Coca-Cola, a mixed drink known as fernet con coca (Spanish for "fernet and Coke") or fernando.{{Cite book |last=Rathbun |first=A. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hKgGjgbfhaUC&pg=PA207 |title=Dark Spirits: 200 Classy Concoctions Starring Bourbon, Brandy, Scotch, Whiskey, Rum and Morse |publisher=Harvard Common Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-55832-427-5 |page=207}} While long available, the drink became much more popular in the mid-1980s, encouraged by advertisements of Fratelli Branca in TV stations with national scope,{{Cite web |title=Promos y Publicidades Canal 9 Argentina (1987/88) | date=11 August 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN-eX0DfwYk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/wN-eX0DfwYk |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}} its popularity growing steadily ever since.{{Cite web |last=Vecino |first=Diego |title=Fernet: una historia de amor argentina |url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1387961-fernet-una-historia-de-amor-argentina |access-date=11 December 2017 |publisher=Conexión Brando. La Nación }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Consumption of fernet increased greatly in the first decade of the 21st century. By the early 2010s, the popularity of relatively inexpensive fernet was so high that many bars in Buenos Aires removed it from their menus to encourage sales of more expensive drinks.
=In the United States=
The drink has been popular in the San Francisco Bay Area since before Prohibition. In 2008, San Francisco accounted for 25% of US consumption.{{Cite journal |last=Curtis |first=Wayne |date=November 2008 |title=The Bitter Beginning: Learning to love a bracing Italian liqueur |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/bitters |journal=The Atlantic}} San Francisco bars usually serve fernet as a shot followed by a ginger ale chaser.
=In the Czech Republic=
The Czech-manufactured Fernet Stock brand is popular in the Czech Republic,{{Cite web |title=O Společnosti - Stock Spirits |url=https://www.stock.cz/about/default.aspx |access-date=2020-06-29 |website=www.stock.cz |language=cs}} where it is 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.{{Cite news |last=Felten |first=Eric |date=2009-01-03 |title=Making Bitter Fernet-Branca Much Easier to Swallow |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123092858411149807}}
The chef Fergus Henderson offers a recipe, entitled both "A Miracle" and "Dr. Henderson", that approximates Branca Menta (a fernet with menthols and peppermint), by combining two parts fernet with one part crème de menthe over ice. The recipe describes this cocktail as a cure for overindulgence.{{Cite book |last=Henderson |first=Fergus |title=The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating |date=April 2004 |publisher=Ecco |isbn=0-06-058536-6 |author-link=Fergus Henderson}}
In popular culture
Fernet-Branca forms the titular subject of James Hamilton-Paterson's 2004 novel of Tuscany expatriate life, Cooking with Fernet Branca.{{Cite news |last=Michael Dibdin |author-link=Michael Dibdin |date=2004-06-19 |title=Strange brew |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jun/19/featuresreviews.guardianreview10}}
Silverada's 2019 song "You Look Good in Neon" makes reference to Fernet in its chorus. Fans of the band have taken to buying shots of the drink at concerts.{{cite magazine |last1=Hudak |first1=Joseph |title=How Mike and the Moonpies Blew Up Their Red Dirt Image at Abbey Road |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/mike-and-the-moonpies-cheap-silver-abbey-road-orchestra-865850/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=2 August 2019 |access-date=4 November 2022}}