Fernet & Coke (aka Fernet con Coca) - How to Make the Famous Argentinian Cocktail

Описание: Fernet and Coke, or Fernet con Coca, as it's known in Argentina, is basically Argentina's answer to Jack and Coke—one of those drinks that first-time drinkers cut their teeth on when they're first learning to make cocktails. And it's a good way to introduce yourself and ease your tastebuds into the wild flavors of Fernet-Branca.

Fernet-Branca, or simply Fernet, is an Italian amaro, a bitter herbal liqueur. And like some other amari (the plural of amaro), Fernet got its start as medicine. In 1845 it was developed as a medicinal tonic meant to cure everything from stomach pains to hangovers. The medicinal pretense of the spirit has been dropped, but for some people, particularly those encountering Fernet for the first time, all they can taste is the medicinal qualities.

Fernet is definitely an acquired taste. It's bitter and herbal and minty (particularly on the nose and in the finish), not qualities that most people's palates accept easily. However, it remains popular in some various places like San Francisco, but far and away the biggest champions of Fernet are Argentinians.

Argentinians drink 75% of the world's Fernet. This may be because over 60% of the population have a least some recent ancestral ties to Italians. There was a huge wave of European immigrants to Argentina from the 1850s to the 1950s. Italians made up a large portion of those immigrants, which in turn helped shape the Argentinian accent. They are also credited with inventing the Fernet con Coca (literally "Fernet with Coke").

The highball stemmed from Córdoba, a province 430 miles inland from Buenos Aires, in the 1980's. Fernet was sipped straight as a digestif by the parents and grandparents of the generation that invented the highball. The younger generation did the hipster thing and took something that wasn't cool, made it cool ironically, then made it cool and accepted in actuality. It was Argentina's PBR or IPA. But the other part of the trick to the Fernet & Coke was to make it more palatable. Fernet has a pretty hump to get over flavor-wise which is where the big carbonated sweetness of the Coke comes in.

Then the drink really took off when Fernet's marketing team caught on to it. They were more than eager to help spread the word on this drink and it worked. The highball is now extremely commonplace. It's easy to make, easy to drink and easy to access.

You'll want to be sure to use Coke from a can or a bottle. Fountain Coke isn't going to work as well in this one. That's because you won't be able to get a good head going with the fountain Coke. You really need the bottled or canned stuff with a lot of effervescence to achieve the right texture. It should also be a new bottle or can, not one that's been half empty in the fridge for a week, because that Coke will be too flat.

There's another tradition in Argentina which is to cut an empty, plastic, 1-liter Coke bottle in half, melting the rim of the cut bottle so that it doesn't cut your lip and building the highball in that. However, that's a little too hardcore for me. The smell of burning plastic and the chemical uncertainty of that method make it a bridge too far for me.

Also, I like this drink. It's a bizarre, complex and exciting highball. But I can only really have one of them. Not because Ferent is relatively high-proof for an amari (it's 39% ABV), but because a little Coke goes a long way for me. So, most times I'll make it in a low ball or Old Fashioned glass, just to make it a little smaller of a serving.

But that being said, again, it's an exciting highball and it's usually the best way to introduce yourself to the world of Fernet. If you can acquire the taste, Fernet makes for a fun place to play when making cocktails. Cheers!



Recipe:
2 oz Fernet
6 oz Coke

Build in pilsner glass with ice. Add 3/4 Fernet. Add 3/4 of the Coke. Stir. Top off with the rest of the Coke. Add the last 1/4 of the Fernet.


Music:
Ice Hot Temperament 3 by Håkan Eriksson
via Epidemic Sound


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Featured in this Episode

Fernet-Branca
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Mexican Coke
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Bar Tools

Pilsner Glass
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OXO SteeL Double Jigger
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Barspoon
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