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Lula Harp

~ one girl's journey into cooking, crafting and self discovery

Lula Harp

Tag Archives: Fernet-Branca

Toast Tuesday: Fernet Redux

21 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by Lula Harp in Toast Tuesday

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cocktails, Concoct, Fernet-Branca, Irish Whisky, Shelby Farms Park

During my year of drinking adventurously, we tried Fernet-Branca, which is a bitter liqueur.  It is often served as a digestive or a common drink is Fernet mixed with coke or ginger beer.  I was not a fan.  I thought for sure I had just wasted money on a bottle that was going to collect dust on my shelf for eternity.

While doing research for Irish whiskey cocktails, one caught my eye, the Southside Smash from the Jameson website.  It called for lime juice, whiskey, mint… so far so good… and Fernet.  I like all of the other ingredients in there so I think I need to give it a try.  I dialed back the Fernet to almost half what the recipe called for.  This allowed all the flavors to come through and not be bullied out by the Fernet.

The two weeks before my recent Concoct event at Shelby Farms, I had two different taste testing evenings to fine tune my recipes and finalize the menu.  The Southside Smash was one that gave people a new flavor element within the comfort of more familiar flavors.  Everyone did a straw taste of Fernet, one woman really liked it, and no one was repelled by it.  So, here’s to trying new things!

This second Concoct event was so much fun.  The people were amazing, the energy of the group was congenial, and there were some great conversations.  A handful of us went for dinner afterward to keep the party going.

For your next Irish Party, give the Southside Smash a try.

1 ½ ounces Irish whisky
¼ – ½ ounce Fernet-Branca
¾ ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
¾ ounce simple syrup*
4-6 mint leaves

Combine ingredients into a shaker, add ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass.
Garnish with a mint sprig.

*Simple Syrup is equal parts sugar and water.  Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve.  Cool to room temperature and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

 

Alright, run along now and enjoy this spring!  Slainte!

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Toast Tuesday: The Force of Fernet

24 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by Lula Harp in Toast Tuesday

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Tags

bitters, Fernet-Branca, liqueur, The Year of Drinking Adventurously, toast tuesday

This is week 21 of our tour-de-booze.  I really thought 21 should have been the kamikaze, the Irish Car Bomb, or buttershots.  Something you drank when you were 21 and this was a reminder why you never did it again!  This week, though, was the grown up version of something I never need to repeat, but now I have this bottle in my cabinet.  I’ll save it for the date I really want to make never call again.  This shit was terrible.

Our guide

Our guide

I can appreciate it has some value, some interesting herbal notes; but overall, this was a waste of $30.  Fernet-Branca is following up on last week’s exploration of bitters.  This is a bitter liqueur that is most commonly consumed on it’s own or with coke or gingerbeer.  It has a very herbal smell at first.  Second whiff, it’s more medicinal; reminiscent of cough syrup.  It looks like coke-a-cola and once you taste it, you understand the pairing.  It has very similar herbal elements as coke.

Not having ever been a huge fan of the coke cocktails, I skipped that route.  I tried the fernet on it’s own, just to see how bitter this bitter really was.  The taste is awful. It really is quite bitter.  The weird thing was, it made my mouth tingle when I tried it alone.  Never had that effect when I drank it mixed.

Per the norm, I consulted google to see what the world had to offer in the way of cocktails.  I started with The Late Night Reviver Cocktail.  This cocktail had all of my favorite elements lime, ginger, and gin, so I was off to a good start.  Even mixed, the strong herbal notes come through, but just didn’t work for me.  As I got toward the bottom of the drink, the herbal notes mellowed and reminded me of Pimm’s.   This made me wonder if I could use this as I would Pimm’s.

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The answer is a resounding NO.  I muddled cucumber and orange, added 1/2 ounce of fernet, and topped with gingerbeer.  It had all the flavors of a weak coke-a-cola.  I couldn’t even drink it.  Sad.  What a waste of a good gingerbeer.  Pimm’s being one of my favorite summer libations, I’ll revisit this soon, and properly.  Looking back, I was a little surprised I’ve not covered this one before.

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Alright, enough being bitter about bitter liqueur.  Be sure to see how Meg did this week.  I’m sure the only thing she may be bitter about is her vacation being over.

Happy Tuesday-  Drink up!

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  • Shelby Farms Park
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