fernet is an ill-defined style of Italian bitter digestive. Although widely considered to belong to the amaro family, some argue it forms a category of its own. See amaro. Known for their strong flavors, fernets are traditionally made with grape spirit and are unsweetened (although they owe their characteristically dark color to burnt sugar), explaining in part their particularly bitter taste.
Perception of fernets has been significantly impacted by the dominance of one brand, Branca, from Milan. It is credited with launching the category in 1845, although Vittone, another producer, has recently worked hard to substantiate claims that they had done so three years earlier.
Branca used to claim that their founder, Bernardino, had invented the formula with a Swedish doctor called Fernet. This is highly unlikely: Fernet (or variations of the name) was a mythical figure said to have lived over a hundred years thanks to an elixir of his invention. In the early eighteenth century, many pharmacists and liquor makers told the tale to sell their own elixirs. Those elixirs were clearly Fernet’s forebears: available recipes feature the characteristic ingredients of modern fernets, such as saffron, aloe, quinine, or white agaric. See Fratelli Branca.
Originally thought to cure cholera, fernets were sold in pharmacies well into the twentieth century. That may be why they were little used in classic cocktails—the Hanky Panky being a notable exception. See Hanky Panky. However, they proved popular with Italian migrants, especially in Argentina, where they are commonly mixed with cola. In recent years, they’ve found favor with mixologists, both as an insider’s drink and as a cocktail ingredient. This has led to a renaissance of the category, with local Italian brands now exported abroad and countries such as the United States producing their own.
See also aperitif and digestive.
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Branca di Romanico, Niccolo. Branca: A Spirited Italian Icon. New York: Rizzoli, 2015.
Mantegazza, Paolo. Quadri della natura umana, vol. 2. Milan: Gaetano Brigola, 1871.
By: François Monti