Full Range of Fernet

Fernet Trio

If you've been to an after-hours bar or industry party, you've probably slugged back a shot of bitter, medicinal Fernet Branca. You may even own a Fernet Branca challenge coin, entitling you to free shots if fellow bartenders can't produce their own. Developed in 1845 by Bernadino Branco, the Italian amaro is a blend of 40 ingredients, including saffron, aloe, gentian, bitter orange, and galangal, the spirit ages in oak barrels for one year to ferment and yield its distinct flavor—likened to licorice-flavored Listerine.

In San Francisco, Fernet has been the city's favorite end-of-shift drink for decades, purportedly dating back to Prohibition when bars served it legally as a medicinal beverage. "San Francisco is the beloved second home of Fernet Branca," says Mixologist Jason Brown, formerly of Txoko.

San Francisco alone accounts for approximately 25 percent of Fernet Branca sales in the United States. "It's literally the ‘San Francisco bartender's treat,"says Fifth Floor Bar Manager Brian Means, who recalls with a mixture of fondness and regret his days in the East Bay when fellow bartenders sipped shots during their shifts.

For the uninitiated, Fernet Branca is versatile, complex, and uninhibitedly bitter, and it can work as a digestif, cocktail modifier, or potent hangover cure (the herbs really work). And unlike some of its sweeter amaro cousins, its bright acidity and herbal notes deliver a clean finish to cocktails.

But Fernet Branca isn't the only fernet in town these days, and even its most ardent SF fans are experimenting with fernets from European and American producers. California distiller Tempus Fugit Spirits produces Angelico Fernet and Denver's Leopold Brothers now makes Fernet Leopold. Fernet Branca distills its own Fernet Menta. "They all add different dimensions," says Jasper's Corner Tap & Kitchen Bar Manager Kevin Diedrich, who is lucky enough to sample varieties from all over the world thanks to the bar's Hotel Serano neighbor. "We get people who fill up little vials of different kinds of fernet from all over and drop them off. We're getting to taste a lot of stuff and play around."

5th Floor Mixologist Brian Means serves three distinct fernet flavors in one sitting with his Fernet Trio. Generally sipped alone, fernet does not usually pair well with food, but it's easy to pair different varieties of fernet. For his trifecta, Means presents Fernet-Branca ice cream, a shot of Czech-produced Stock Fernet, and a proper cocktail with a Fernet Leopold base. With the classic Branca, the fiery Stock, and lean Leopold, Means illustrates the range of fernet flavor profiles and all its potential charms (mouthwash notwithstanding).