Popularly marketed as “The Bartender’s Handshake,” Fernet-Branca is a 180 year-old amaro brand initially sold for medicinal purposes. That cures-what-ails-ya perception even helped keep U.S. sales afloat during Prohibition, when the drink was permitted and legal as a cholera treatment.
Unsurprisingly, official claims of medicinal properties have long since vanished, beyond the occasional, cheeky post on the company’s self-aware social media. But that’s hardly hobbled sales. Today, Fernet-Branca is the world’s most recognized brand of fernet, a category of bitter Italian amaro. (Indeed, it’s likely Fernet-Branca is the world’s most consumed amaro, period.) The brand is especially beloved among bartenders, its trendiness fueled at least in part by a cult online following and savvy social media placement. In recent years, the parent company has also put its weight behind cocktail competitions and other activations seeking to get drinkers enjoying fernet in unconventional ways.
Fernet-Branca is also shockingly popular in Argentina, which some estimates suggest accounts for up to 75% of the global consumption. But a new bottling is focused squarely on the U.S. market. To celebrate its 180th anniversary, Fernet-Branca is releasing 49,000 commemorative bottles into the American market, complete with surrealist flair to match its quirky history.
Fernet-Branca’s 180th Anniversary Limited Edition bottle features an imposing rendition of the brand’s famed eagle (which first appeared on the logo in 1901), set against “a surrealist rendering of the iconic Fratelli Branca distillery in Milan.” Those decorative bottles are sure to stand out on shelves, but the liquid inside remains much the same: 39% ABV (78 proof), characteristically bitter, and made from 27 “herbs, flowers, spices, and roots” the company claims are sourced from “over four continents.”
Company lore also says only one living person knows the exact recipe for the iconic drink, but we do know some likely candidates: rhubarb, myrrh, peppermint, camomile, cinnamon, linden, iris, saffron, and gentian are all confirmed by the manufacturer. After ingredients are infused in the alcohol base, the drink is aged for around one year in oak vats.
The 180th Anniversary Limited Edition bottling carries a suggested retail price of $39.99. While it’s technically a limited release, those 49,000 bottles are sure to pop up in major markets across the U.S., so don’t be surprised to see it on retail shelves—or at your local watering hole, within reach of a veteran bartender looking to share a tipple.