Digestivi
Fernet-Branca
The short answer
Fernet-Branca is an intensely bitter Milanese amaro, 39% ABV, drunk ice-cold in a small glass after a heavy meal.
- Style
- Aggressively bitter mint, 39% ABV
- Glass
- Ice-cold shot glass
- Strength
- 39% ABV
Where it comes from
Bernardino Branca started making it in Milan in 1845 as a medicine, with 27 herbs including myrrh, saffron and chamomile. The recipe is still secret and the taste still divides every dinner table it lands on.
What you need
- 1½ oz (45 ml) Fernet-Branca, straight from the freezer
How Larry builds it
- 01
Freeze the bottle. Or at least the glass. Cold rounds off the bitterness enough to make it civil.
- 02
Pour small. An ounce and a half. This is a digestivo, not a round.
Larry’s rule: Tastes like a dare. Genuinely settles a heavy dinner.
Variations worth making
Fernet and cola
The Argentine standard: one part Fernet, three parts cola, lots of ice.
Fernet Menta
The sweeter mint version. A gateway bottle.
Hanky Panky
Gin, sweet vermouth and two dashes of Fernet.
Questions people ask
What does Fernet-Branca taste like?
Bitter menthol, saffron and dark herbs — closer to medicine than liqueur, and that is the point.
When do Italians drink Fernet?
After dinner as a digestivo, or in the morning in a caffè corretto.
More from Digestivi
← All 67 Italian drinksQuoting or citing this drink? Credit “Uncle Larry Adventures” and link to https://unclelarryadventures.com/beverages/fernet.