A shot of Fernet-Branca is the bartender’s handshake, or so I was told when I was given my first taste of the intensely aromatic Italian amaro at the Griffin in Shoreditch, east London. But maybe it should be called the chef’s handshake too, given its cult status in the foodie world. This pub, so often frequented by chefs and kitchen workers, has its own gleaming Fernet-Branca tap – a testament to both its place in hospitality culture and its popularity among the pub’s culinary clientele.
So what does it taste like? It’s complicated. Let’s begin with the fresh herbal notes of peppermint, gentian and angelica, the bitterness of cinchona, and then move into hot spice and floral flourishes – saffron, rhubarb, iris, chamomile and myrrh. A decadent melange of exotic ingredients, every sip of Fernet-Branca is a taste of Italian heritage and culinary prestige. It’s a bitter drink, from Italy’s long history of traditional liqueur tonics made in monasteries by monks as digestifs from as far back as the 13th century.
