Discussions of Fernet Branca loom around the blurred associations of it being a bitter Italian herbal liquor consumed as either a digestive or as an aperitif and more recently as part of a cocktail. Essentially though it falls into the category of Amari – the Italian word for Bitters.

The Fratelli Branca company of Milan are the main producers of Fernet. Undoubtedly their global success was assisted by the wonderful poster art of the early 20th century and clever advertising promoting its curative powers; its icon was the alligator – known for its powers of digestion. By the end of the 20th century, the same people who had made Absolut synonymous with vodka had put their name and promotional skills behind Fernet Branca.

Hippocrates documented in 300 BC the health giving properties of bitter and aromatic herbs, seeds and spices steeped in liquids to aid digestion. In the 1300s medieval monks worked on creating their own secret recipes of medicinal brews and elixirs along with their experiments in alchemy. Fernet Branca was developed as a health elixir in 1845 by Bernadine Branca, a self taught, Milanese apothecary. The drink is a secret combination of over forty widely sourced herbs and spices in a base of grape alcohol. Ingredients included chamomile, cardamom, saffron and myrrh and allegedly opiates and absinthe. Fernet Branca was promoted as a tonic to cure multiple illnesses from baby colic and menstrual pain to cholera.

It is possible that Dr Fernet was a fictitious Swede whose name was used by Branca to give credibility to the medicinal properties and curative powers of his product. At the time many bars in Italy and Paris were competing in the concoction and promotion of digestives and tonics for their clientele. People throughout Europe were becoming interested again in the healing power of herbs. During prohibition in the United States the medicinal properties attributed to Fernet Branca were in fact its salvation. By then, it was widely endorsed by doctors and used in hospitals. A new distillery was established in New York and distribution outside of Italy was through drug stores around North America.

Not surprisingly, there is not a lot of information available on the details of the production processes of Fernet Branca. It can be reasonably understood though that maceration is fundamental to its production. The secret combination of ingredients are steeped in a grape spirit. The spirit then takes up the essence of flavor from the ingredients being macerated. This process is followed by filtering, bottling and storing while the elixir matures and mellows, fermenting for 1 year in oak barrels before bottling.

The role and significance of amari in general and specifically that of Fernet Branca was originally that of a medicinal preparation, intended for the better health of its consumer. The enjoyment of a digestive at the end of a meal was probably of secondary importance. Fernet Branca, along with other bitters is traditionally served straight up in a tall glass. If it is being drunk as an aperitif, it would be served over ice possibly with the addition of mineral water and a wedge of lemon.

An old Italian proverb disagrees with the proclamations of Brillat Savarin that people are what they eat but rather, “how well they digest.”. From this, one can establish that digestion is of vital importance to Italians, second only perhaps to the sanctified place the liver holds in governing their bodily harmony. It is commonly believed by the Italians that ones mood and humor is greatly influenced by his digestive processes. In reserve they have over 300 digestive drinks for the relief of their heavy meals and food combinations. The unusual ingredients present in Fernet Branca and other digestives work to stimulate the gastric juices that aid digestion. Many doctors in Italy today, still stand by Fernet Branca and similar products as a useful and reliable tonic to be used to aid digestion.

Not only do the Italians rely on the digestive powers of this wonderful amari but they also subscribe to its fantastic healing powers in general, its ability to stimulate the appetite (when taken as an aperitif), beef up the blood, calm the nerves and proceed you through a hangover. There is something fabulously medicinal in the bitter taste of Fernet Branca, often described by the uninitiated as positively vile and by the more generous perhaps an acquired taste. Its future as a modern drink outside of Italian communities however seems to lie in part in the interest taken by American cocktail bars as a curious mixer with a controversial flavor – a stretch for most palates, the perfect ingredient for cutting – edge mixologists behind the cocktail bar.

It would appear that there is a potential for this ancient miracle cure to establish its own cult following outside the Italian drink culture built around amari amongst those with a curiosity for something new and challenging, alcoholic and almost unpalatably bitter. This will take Fernet Branca beyond the realm of health elixir to that of contributor to frivolities and conviviality from the cocktail hour through to when you just don’t want the meal to end and all the wine has been drunk. It is a wonderful thing to be able to continue to be social while simultaneously sitting back and digesting, comforted in the knowledge that tomorrows’ hangover cure is right there on the dining table, ready for the new dawn.

Fernet Branca is available at most good wine and spirits stores.

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