Actual Research-Like Substance: Scott Brody's Epic Eva Peron Story

Once in a while Your Fernetiquette pretends to be An Actual Blogger instead of being some schmo who assigns everything a cutsie tag and calls it a day. I admit it's not often, but on occasion I do put legitimate effort into this little webspace.

For example, about five months ago I took the time to type out an ENTIRE EMAIL(!!) that politely asked the purveyors of Bourbon and Branch how they managed to come up with the delicious Fernet-based cocktail known as the Eva Peron. Naturally, I didn't follow up on that email in any way, shape or form. I've been wayyyy too busy to spend my time in the dogged pursuit of truth.

Still my friends, I am here today to testify that you do indeed reap what you sew. Yes, this weekend I received the following note from Mr. Scott Brody, the lead bartender at Epic Roasthouse re: the origins of The Peron:

If you're still interested in the story behind the Eva Peron (and even if you aren't) here it is:

We had a liquor rep trying like hell to get Canton ginger liqueur into Epic back in 2008.  Shortly after bringing it in, we got a call from him to arrange a party for a friend of his.  His friend was going to Argentina on an "epic" adventure and he wanted a specialty cocktail containing Canton for the party.  

 Epic: Pictured

We agreed to try and come up with something, and I took the two ideas: Argentina and Canton, to Tony Nik's in North Beach where I knew Darren Crawford was working.  Our friend and fellow bartender Jake Cornell was there, and the three of us started brainstorming.  I knew that Fernet mixed well with Sweet Vermouth from cocktails such as the Hanky Panky, and everyone in SF knows it pairs well with ginger.  Furthermore, I knew that Fernet is wildly popular in Argentina.  We can't remember exactly who came up with the lime, or who thought of trying ginger ale; but Darren started mixing, decided on equal parts of Carpano Antica, Fernet and Canton, squeezed in half a lime, shook everything and topped it with ginger ale.  We tasted it, decided that ginger beer would work best, and voila, a cocktail is born.  We came up with the name Eva Peron, because the Evita cocktail already exists (nasty thing with Midori in it). 

The drink was a hit at the party, and once Darren started working at Bourbon & Branch, he brought the Eva Peron with him.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, or come by Epic and I'll be happy to mix up an Eva for you.

Cheers,  

-Scott Brody.

 Odds of me taking Mr. Brody up on that offer? Excellent.

(Srsly tho: Many thanks to Scott for the story!!! Now everyone immediately go to Epic and tip like a Rockefeller.)
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Filed Under: Actual research-like substance, Bourbon and Branch, Epic in the non-internet way, Fernet cocktails, The Argentine Menace, San Francisco in general, Don't act like I never do anything for you people

Places You Can Get Fernet: Sable in Chicago, IL

In the middle of my junior year of college, my girl and I went to the City of Broad Shoulders to visit a friend of mine from grade school who had moved out there while he and I were in high school. It was in the dead of winter; the harrowing part of Midwestern January. According to the weathermen, it was something like -40 with the wind chill. I didn't know if what the forecast said was true, I just know it was the coldest I'd ever been in my life. It still is.

The three of us still managed to brave the conditions and fought our way downtown. I wore my Red Wings jersey. At the Art Institute, we did this:

Of course we did.

I mention this not because it's particularly relevant; it's just to remind myself that I should contact the old friend and the girl more often. They are wonderful people and I miss them both.

What is quite relevant is this: you can get Fernet in Chicago. True fact.

A good hotel bar can be a traveler’s best friend, especially when it comes with a pedigree like that of the recently opened Sable Kitchen & Bar in Chicago’s Hotel Palomar. With a spirits selection curated by bartender Jacques Bezuidenhout and cocktails like the Fernet- and St. Germain-laced Ginger Dram and the strawberry- and mezcal-bedecked Speaking in Tongues being mixed by Violet Hour alum Mike Ryan, Sable is the perfect bar away from home.

 Sable is at 505 North State street, which according to the googlz is right downtown-ish. Picture goes here.

For the record, the Ginger Dram consists of:

• 1 3/4 oz. single-malt scotch whisky 
• 1 oz. Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
• 2 barspoons Fernet Branca
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Ice cubes 
• A dash of DA BEARS
• Lemon twist
• Served in a Nick & Nora glass

One of those ingredients may not be entirely serious.
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Filed Under: Places you can get Fernet, Chicago, Fernet cocktails, Over-sharing and functional alcoholism, I don't get the ginger fascination I really don't, I'd buy Steve Bartman a shot dude deserves it

Places You Can Get Fernet: Eastern Standard in Boston, MA

So. You're in Boston. You've gone to Faneuil Hall. You've had your picture taken in front of the Civil War memorial on the Common. You've done the Duck Tour. And you've walked by Fenway and thought about how nice it would be to see a game there but all the tickets are sold out and $350 for a scalped seat behind a pole are you effing kidding me!?!?!

Now you're thinking to yourself "Man, I could really go for a rib eye steak, half a raw lobster, some standard (not special, mind you) foie gras with seasonal garnish, and an heirloom apple tarte tartin for dessert. Oh, and also some Fernet. I've only got $75 to spend (not including tax and gratuity, of course.) But where???"

There's only one place that THIS writer knows of. And that's The Eastern Standard.

The aforementioned standard foie gras and seasonal garnish

Jackson Cannon, the (one-time? current? I have no idea) bar manager at Eastern Standard apparently is in the habit of referring to Fernet-Branca as "Jäger for men", which is offensive on precisely two levels. However, the article that brings us that absurd quotation also says stuff like this:

The first time you taste Fernet, it literally assaults your senses. It’s intensely bitter, peppery and mentholated. ‘I can’t believe I just swallowed that,’ may be your first thought. But, intrigued, you try it again. You like that cleaned-out buzz, that feeling that your insides have been sandblasted. The next thing you know, you’re working in a restaurant.

Why do waiters, bartenders and chefs gravitate toward this stuff? Well … It’s a badass drink that very few people know about, much less like. Drinking it conveys both that you have an advanced palate and that you embrace the ridiculous.

...so perhaps some quarter should be given since that last sentence is oh so very wonderful.

Making her grand appearance on the Eastern Standard Cocktail Menu is the "Heather in Queue". Who is this Heather and why is she standing in line? Who knows? Who cares? I do know and care that she is made up of "A few of our favorite things:"

• Plymouth
• Martini Bianco
• Bauchant (an orange liquer)
• Fernet

Heather does indeed sound foxy enough to wait my turn.

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Filed Under: Places you can get Fernet, Boston, Fernet cocktails, Fancy Fernet Free Verse, Duck Boats yall, Tom Brady is a handsome man

Okay, Okay, I'll Try Fernet Con Coca.

It's hard to argue that I'm some kind of Fernet purist. While my preferred way to take it is in shot form, I have obviously enjoyed my fair share of some entirely scrumptious Fernet concoctions. So why is it that until now I've resisted trying the most popular (and easiest to make) Fernet cocktail in the world?

Frankly, I have no idea. I like Fernet. I like Coke. I drink enough of either ingredient that I would conservatively estimate my bloodstream is typically around 40% Fernet and Coke anyway. But the idea of ordering a Fernet and Coke gets my dander up.

Maybe I blanch at Fernet Con Coca because I'm defensive of the idea that you'd have to water it down to make it palatable. It's definitely also a bit of (ahhh my old familiar friend) San Franciscan Pretentiousness. Regardless, the idea of cutting my delicious Fernet with something as pedestrian as cola has spurred me to deploy not just one but two derogatory (and probably offensive) tags to refer to Fernet Con Coca on this blog.

Well, folks. It's time to suck it up and try it. For science!

Pictured: ingredients. Not pictured: irrational internal scorn.

As an aside, the bottle above cost me almost $30 with tax at the liquor store across the street. And yet I paid it. Don't ever say I don't do anything for you people.

Dramatic reflection shot!

For the sake of completeness, here's how to make a Fernet Con Coca.

• One shot of Fernet-Branca
• Coca-Cola
• Ice

*sigh*

At least they look pretty

Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush. Fernet and Coke tastes exactly how you'd expect it to taste. The cola waters the Fernet down so it's less punchy, but not so much that you can't still get the flavor. It's fine. A little blander than I'd like it to be, but fine. The best thing I can say about Fernet Con Coca is that mixing it like this prolongs the Fernet experience and the ice and cold coke make it more of a summer-y refreshing drink. Like a Tom Collins that'll put hair on your chest. I just can't see myself drinking this regularly is all.

FWIW, The Ladyfriend liked it more than I did. Here were her thoughts:

It's kind of an interesting balance in this drink, it seems. Sometimes it seems as though it doesn't take much Fernet for it to taste sort of like just a drawn-out shot of Fernet--like a shot of Fernet diluted a bit with Coke because, say, hypothetically, you only had a little bit of Fernet left and really wanted to make one last drink for the night but were too lazy/tipsy/naked to go out to the store to buy more Fernet--not that I would ever be able to relate to such a hypothetical desire in such a hypothetical situation, ever, because that's just sad! Right?

At any rate: a Fernet con Coca that tastes sort of like a drawn-out Fernet shot is not a bad thing. I enjoy it. It does, however, take on a somewhat different flavor when it's heavier on the Coca-Cola and lighter on the Fernet. The Fernet taste and Coke do complement each other rather well, I think; the specific way in which Coke is sweet and syrupy works with Fernet. (Note: I am not sure I could be paid/what sum of money I'd have to be paid to try a Fernet con Diet Coca. The sugar and the syrupiness of the regular Coke is crucial, I think, and I don't really like regular Coke most of the time. I'm super into Diet Coke, and yet I still would be hard-pressed to drink, voluntarily/for free, a Fernet con Diet Coca.)

So, final verdict: I like it. If one didn't like Fernet at all, I think a very very light-on-Fernet Fernet con Coca might even possibly work for that one. Should I ever find myself in Argentina, I shall order myself a Fernet con Coca with white-chick-style-atrociously-accented-broken-Spanish gusto.

So there you go. I should note that I have no such compunction against trying a Fernet and Diet Coke. I'm trying to watch my girlish figure, see.
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FINALLY, in pseudo-celebration of the holiday, here is the face-melting #1 hit in a google image search for "Fernet St. Patrick's Day":

Holy shit!

Fuck if I know what that has to do with St. Patrick's Day, and fuck if I could care. THIS. IS. AWESOME. Something tells me this isn't an official Branca advert, though I confess I don't know whether I would like it more or less if it was. Regardless, one thousand cocktails to whoever produced this work of art, and I will now seek out a print to hang on the ceiling above my bed.

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Filed Under: OMG OMG OMG, Fernet and Cola, The Argentine Menace, Drink it like a man you pansies, Fernet cocktails, le sigh, Fernet Foto File, fernet adverts, thats fuckin art man art

Places You Can Get Fernet: Varnish in Los Angeles, CA

Fernet was previously found in Los Angeles here. 

This past weekend, I journeyed to the City of Angels in search of some saffron-infused Italian bitters. I went to several different taverns, some of which really should have served Fernet (I'm looking at you, Bar 107) but only managed to strike murky brown gold at one place. And what a place it was! Like all good bars in LA, this place was impossible to find and had no sign. Literally. It's an upscale speakeasy-style joint through an unmarked door in the back of a diner called Varnish.

Be forewarned, my friends. Varnish ain't cheap, but the perfectly-mixed concoctions you'll get will be worth every penny. This is doubly true if you order off-menu. For while the specialty drinks are worth your time, you should also feel free to rely on the considerable expertise of the waitstaff and mixologists. For example, one of my companions ordered something with gin, not sour or fizzy, "but extra delicious" and was served a simply wonderful Gershwin.

Needless to say, when I noticed Fernet-Branca on the menu (for $12 a shot no less - yikes!) I thought I'd challenge them a bit. "Whip me up something with Fernet in it," I told Devin, our (completely devastating) server. "Make it interesting."

The result: The Newark. It looked like this.

Dark bars + dark drinks = great times, dark photos 

The Newark seems like a bit of an obscure concoction, but its ingredients are essentially listed as: 

• 2 oz Applejack
• 1 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
• 1 oz Maraschino liquor
• 2 bar spoons Fernet-Branca

It was served chilled in a cocktail glass, and it was fabulous. The brandy gave the drink a sort of cordial warmth, but this was balanced by the forward fruity notes of apple and cherry. The Fernet gave it a nice familiar kick at the finish (I have a hunch that our barkeep used more than two bar spoons in mine.) Serving it chilled mellowed the strong flavors out nicely.

 

 Cocktail by Varnish. Décolletage by Ms. J.

Passing the Newark around the table garnered these responses:

• 
  
  
  "Sort of Christmassy, but in a good way."
• 
  
  
  "It's like an all-spice flavor in there."
• 
  
  
  "It tastes like cold spiced apple cider, with saffron and lots of booze."
• 
  
  
  "Don't know if I could finish it, but it's good."

Obviously, I finished it and would give it my highest recommendation. The next time I'm at Bourbon and Branch I'll be sure to see if they can do a Newark that measures up.

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Filed under: Places you can get Fernet, Fernet cocktails, LA is sorta OK sometimes, Los Angeles, these are a few of my favorite things, Luckily it didn't taste like New Jersey

All Your Updates: Tossing (Back) Footballs, Burrito Justice, and Scouting the Enemy

All Your Updates to Various Things for Feb. 18

Talkin' Footballs (Just in time for baseball season!)
Prior to the Super Bowl, we tipped you off to the magic of the Football, a drink that essentially consisted of Fernet-Branca and whipped cream. Sufficiently intrigued, the lady whipped up some... um, whipped cream so we could drink the footballs while watching the footballs.

 

The gnome looks on... wistfully

We (er... she) decided for the sake of scientific inquiry to try both the store bought whipped cream and homemade stuff. Mixing in a bit of vanilla extract and sugar to whipping cream, she got to work:

As you can see, we lack a mixer. I have been told to remedy this.

The result was quite frankly delicious and far FAR superior to the store-bought whipped cream.

It's like a Fernet Float! 

Obviously, if you're familiar with Fernet you can guess what one of these tastes like, but I will say it was better than I expected. The cream really mellowed some of the natural overpowering amaro tang. The vanilla in the homemade cream was an especially nice touch. I'd even recommend one of these to the fernet-averse, though I'd probably pour them a smaller glass.

For the sake of completeness, here's a shot of the prettier-but-not-quite-as-tasty Football with the store bought whipped cream.

You must check this out immediately or I will fight you.

If you live in San Francisco, you should be familiar with Burrito Justice. It's a blog dedicating to taking what is old and historic about San Francisco (and specifically the Mission/Bernal areas) and exposing it to the fixie-riding-fernet-swilling folks populating our neighborhoods today. If you don't know them, take some time to poke around the site because pretty much everything they do is beyond fascinating.

I bring them up today because Burrito Justice has been absolutely killing it lately, in a way relevant to this blog's second most favoritest topic: baseball. (As an aside- OMG PITCHERS AND CATCHERS PITCHERS AND CATCHERS!) 

Last week, they explored how the graceful glory of Seals Stadium at the corner of 16th and Bryant was transmogrified into the Office Depot/Safeway/24 Hour Fitness monstrosity that inhabits that space today.

They took the time to overlay the schematics of Seals Stadium onto the current layout of the shopping complex, and (with some help) found the exact location of each of the bases.

He hits it high! He hits it deep! He hits it to Lane Bryant!

As if that weren't cool enough, today they went even farther back in time in a post titled "The Mission Has Always Been the Home of Baseball", wherein they drag up some amazing issues of the San Francisco Call Bulliten from 1924 which serve as the definitive history of San Francisco baseball. I don't want to ruin it (CLICK THE EFFING LINK ALREADY) but let me just say that I now consider myself an honorary member of the San Francisco Pickled Nine.

You're a handsome fella. What's your name?

A Faces of Fernet from a random schmo.

Those ceilings are the tits

Taken @ The Homestead on 19th and Folsom on Saturday, Feb. 13.

Housekeeping.
Light posting this week as I've been busy with some interesting and exciting stuff that has almost nothing to do with this blog. Should be back to normal next week.

HOWEVA, in what will probably not be an opening salvo in The Great California War but will certainly involve me talking mad shit to disinterested Dodger fans, this weekend I'll be hopping on a flight and heading directly...

...to *shudder* Los Angeles. Naturally, I'll be doing some Fernetiquette research. Stay tuned.

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Filed under: All Your Updates, Fernet Foto File, Faces of Fernet, Burrito is my favorite kind of Justice, LA is sorta OK sometimes, The Homestead, Fernet cocktails, The High Holy Church of Baseball

Are You Ready for a Football?

That's right. Not some football. A football.

 

Don't mind if I do

No, not like that. Like this.

• Fill a glass with Fernet-Branca
• Add a spoonful of cream, either whipped or foamed
• Serve  

This little concoction is called a Football. That's right, not a Fútbol. A football. And why? I have no idea. But it should go well with some chips and dips tomorrow.

Enjoy!

(Go Saints.)

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Filed under: Fernet cocktails, Posts about Michigan, If you are rooting for Indianapolis you are a communist

You're a real blue flame special, aren't you son?

Young, dumb and full of...

*ahem*

Fernet.

Oh THAT. That looks much more appealing. And apparently, it's being served at the theater/religious experience that is Point Break Live! (Fernetiquette cannot recommend Point Break Live! highly enough, incidentally. Plays about movies about surfing are the source, man.... swear to God.)

For those of you who can't make it out, the Surfer on Acid consists of:

• Fernet
• Coconut Rum
• Pineapple Juice &
• 100% Pure Adrenaline!

Bodhi tells us: If you want the ultimate, you have to pay the ultimate price. Here the ultimate price is $7.00.

Sent to me by my friend Timmy, who didn't order one because he sucks. Timmy should know that fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true.
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Filed Under: Fernet cocktails, Johnny Utah would be cool if he weren't a Buckeye, Utah get me two, Vaya con Dios brah

Places You Can Get Fernet: Minneapolis, MN

Ahhh, the Twin Cities. Nice place to visit. Honestly, it is. It's like a cleaner Chicago, with a downtown built like a hamster cage. Also: The Lakeside Club is a pretty good place for conversations with new acquaintances. Overall, I recommend the whole town*.

HOWEVA, I did spend this Christmas in Minneapolis, and in doing so visited four (4) different bars and found me some Fernet at exactly none (0) of them.  This wasn't too surprising but definitely counts as a strike against the Gopher State metropolis.

So I asked a friend who'd lived there for years if he'd knew where one could get some. Earlier this year, I'd introduced him to Fernet while he was visiting SF and here were his impressions:

My first reaction was that it tasted like minty bitters. I didn't really like it or hate. I could see how it could grow on me as a drink. I was apprehensive but drank it because my attorney advised it.

Smart lad, this one. He continues.

I have had it once since then. It isn't common around here, as you can guess.

The only place here in Minneapolis that I have ever seen it is at this restaraunt that just opened called il Gatto. They have straight up or they have it on their menu in a drop shot type of drink with Lemonata Pelligrino. They call it a Branca Bomb.

Success!

Il Gatto is in Uptown Minneapolis at the corner of Hennipin and Lake at Calhoun square. Uptown is where the cool kids hang out (it's like the Mission without the burrito joints.) Whatever middling reviews the food may get from customers, you have to give Il Gatto credit for honesty on their menu**. The ingredients to the Branca Bomb ($9) are listed as:

• Fernet-Branca
• San Pellegrino Limonata
• courage

Fair play to them. So, my Minneapolitan friend, did you try a Branca Bomb?

Of course I tried it. It was interesting, I can tell you that.

Sometimes, that's all you can ask for.


*Or "towns", as it were.
**Not exactly delicate in their words or adornments, Il Gatto's "Happy Hour" menu is decorated with a clipart picture of a cat's butthole. You have been forewarned.
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Filed under: Places you can get Fernet, Fernet cocktails, Minnesota, Prince orders his with extra courage, Goh Gohphers, Fernets and their migratory patterns

Fernet-Branca at Bourbon and Branch: The Eva Peron

Welcome to the Twenty-Teens, my friends! Did everyone use Fernet-Branca to wipe away your New Year's Day hangovers? I did, of course. Don't ask whether it worked because I don't remember.

Here at Fernetiquette, we also rang in 2010 by getting gussied-up and heading to the best little speakeasy in the city for a three hour session this Saturday night. I'd been to Bourbon and Branch a dozen or so times, so imagine my surprise when I perused the ever-shifting cocktail menu and my eyes lit upon this tall drink of water:

Don't keep your distance

Yes my friends, The Eva Peron. It appeared at the bottom of the last page of the Cocktails from Around The World section of the menu. The ingredients were listed as

• Fernet-Branca
• Carpano Antica (A sweet vermouth produced by the Branca distillery.)
• Ginger liquor
• Lime juice
• Ginger beer

The menu noted that the Peron was an homage to Argentina and San Francisco's appreciation for Fernet. Naturally, I ordered it immediately. Unfortunately, due to the strict house rules I could not take a picture of the resulting concoction's presentation, but it was beautifully served in a collins glass over ice with a slice of lime. Approximately the color of whiskey and water, The Eva Peron was (like most everything at Bourbon and Branch) sublimely delicious.

Before I tasted it, I was a little wary of how much I would enjoy it as I'm not a huge fan of ginger flavors, but strangely the Fernet managed to be both front-and-center and quite subtle. I don't claim to have the most sophisticated palate for this sort of thing, but the lime and the effervescence from the ginger beer even seemed to help separate some of the floral and herbal notes from the Fernet. The overall effect was a complex, refreshing cocktail that had an earthy, almost wooden flavor... but in a good way.

Bottom line, I thought this was damned tasty. If they canned it and sold it in tall boys at corner stores, I'd buy a twelve-pack. Even one of my most staunchly Fernetphobic companions had this to say:

"It was interesting. I don't know if I would have finished the whole thing, but it was definitely not unpleasant."

 High praise!

I have put in an email to Bourbon and Branch to see if I can ask some questions about how they came up with the idea for The Eva Peron and see if I can get a better idea of the recipe. I'll report back if I hear anything in return.

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Filed under: Fernet cocktails, It's not really that bad ya know, Bourbon and Branch, Drinks named after former heads of state, The Argentine Menace, actual research-like substance