Somehow I got my hands around a glass of Fernet in Mexico City (aided by two women from Argentina who brought it with them from Buenos Aires). This stuff was damn good! How did I never hear about it when I lived in Italy? Is it popular with Italians?
----------------------------------- Pekorino, my food blog On The Road, Again [travel stories from 2005-2006]
In my two major trips to Italy, I never saw anyone drink it. Perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough. I do know that I have had it plenty of times in the US. As the others suggest it is a bitters digestivo and does have the reputation of curing or preventing a hangover. My dad taught me that. I think Americans and Italians are less inclined to drink "bitters" today than sweeter digestivos. But it does seem to work to prevent a hangover or wine headache from my personal experience. I understand that there are over 40 herbs in it so that may be why!
Posts: 663 | Location: Palmyra, NJ, USA | Registered: 29 July 2003
The only time I ahve actually seen it consumed wass in Venezia, at around 7 in the morning when an old man walked into the bar and had a prosecco and fernet branca, 50/50. I still shudder at the thought of the taste combination.
I have had Fernet Branca for purely investigational, professional reasons. While preferable to root canal, it remains one of the more unforgettable food and drink experiences of my life. Not quite as bad a 6 month old sun fermented squid, but close. I would have to be in quite a lot of digestive distress before I would venture the Fernet Branca.
I have heard people get ecstatic over Fernet Branca, but it is quite expensive here. Since many of the Amaros strike me as pretty sweet, I jumped at the opportunity to buy FB when I saw a small bottle in a Roman grocery store. I brought it back to my apartment and tried some that night. !!!!! I hope the next people liked it.
Hitching on to this post to ask about Cynar - the artichoke liquer. I saw a bottle at Beverages & More the other day, and was wondering if anyone's tried it.
I hate Campari - since Cynar's in the same "amaro" group, am I likely to dislike it, too? Thanks!
Posts: 14516 | Location: The Beautiful San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 06 August 2001
Actually, I like Cynar. It's not quite as cloyingly sweet as some of the "Amaro's" seem to me, bot not as bitter as Campari. I'm trying to think of the name of a novel (maybe by Therese St. Aubin de Teran, but maybe not) where the hero - an aging, disabled veteran - drinks Cynar all the time. Maybe that had an effect on me. I'll let you know if I remember what the book was.
I like Fernet Branca. A lot. It is a wonderful digestivo (but not only!). I like anything with an herbal or grassy flavor; a current favorite is Genepy made from a mountain grass grown at 2000 meters in the Val d'Aosta.
Ok, ok, I get your points! Root canal? Tell me how you really feel!
We were in a Italian bar/restaurant in Dunedin, FL one afternoon last winter. Stopped in for directions, but sat at the bar, chatted with the owner, spyed Fernet Branca in the line up and had one. The owner said she had never served it before, it was stocked only cos her husband likes it. It took an Italian to order the first! No charge, of course. Wonder if they ever sold one.
Dean, I've never tried a root canal -- you say it's worse than Fernet Branca? As for
quote:I like anything with an herbal or grassy flavor
grass clippings mulched for a couple of weeks might be a good taste description of FB! I tried Cynar (once); it's artichoke bitters. I like Campari. Interesting as a cure for hangovers (FB); one sip would get you to straighten up and fly right!
Posts: 2054 | Location: Suburban Philadelphia | Registered: 08 July 2002
You can add Fernet Branca to your espresso coffee,lots of people in Italy drink it that way, and its Summer version - Brancamenta - has to be drinked icy.
My uncle the priest, Don Beppino, had two vices/pleasures (that we know of ): his pipe and his Fernet Branca. When we would visit him in Italy, we'd bring him tobacco and a bottle of FB. He'd indulge every evening after dinner until his death a couple of years ago in his late 80s.
As for me, I grew up with a taste for all things bitter (or bittersweet)...I love Campari and San Bitter but can't stand Fernet Branca which tastes like really, really bad medicine to me!
Posts: 871 | Location: New York City | Registered: 28 May 2003
Okay put me down as the only American, apparently, who likes the stuff! My Italian friend got me hooked on a cold night near Lake Garda.Hard to find here, but I do like it once in a while....
Posts: 605 | Location: Rehoboth, MA USA | Registered: 30 August 2003
I see it sold a lot in the US. In Sicily bitters were popular with the men, but I think many people make their own, just as they make their own mandarinetto and limoncello liqueurs. In Basilicata Amaro Lucano seemed to be very popular. It's another brand of bitters.
Posts: 318 | Location: NJ, USA | Registered: 18 November 2003
Topic Closed
!!!!! I hope the next people liked it.
): his pipe and his Fernet Branca. When we would visit him in Italy, we'd bring him tobacco and a bottle of FB. He'd indulge every evening after dinner until his death a couple of years ago in his late 80s.
