A Drink for My Bitter Old Soul

Here’s a thing that’s true about me: Every time I drink a cocktail with Fernet-Branca in it, I feel like like a real fucking adult. I mean, I know all cocktails are technically supposed to be for grown-ups, but who the fuck do you think is drinking Long Island Iced Teas and Red Bulls with Vodka? And Sour Apple Pucker straight from the bottle (me, in high school). NOT mature adults with discerning palates, I’ll tell you that much.

But you know who drinks a cocktail with Fernet-Branca? Someone who enjoys the taste of booze and bitters a little too much, that’s who. Someone with a refined-as-fuck palate who appreciates a strong, herbal amaro, but who isn’t a fucking masochist and also mixes it with a sweet-and-spicy ginger liqueur, whiskey, and club soda. Or just someone who kind of likes bitter shit and appreciates balanced flavors. Maybe someone who likes to pretend she’s all sophisticated but drinks $8 bottles of wine and wants to be buried with a baker’s dozen of Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap Supreme. Anyway, despite my ever-so-eclectic tastes, I’ve always enjoyed Fernet-Branca in whiskey cocktails, and I’ve always enjoyed ginger in whiskey cocktails. So, for this one, I decided to combine all three. Because of its powerful herbal, bitter flavor, a little Fernet-Branca goes a long way, so there’s not too much in there. The result is a drink that’s not too sweet, not too gingery, not too strong — not too anything, really. It’s a perfect cocktail for a fucking adult to sip on a hot summer night.

The Bubbly Biddy

INGREDIENTS

1 ounce whiskey
1 ounce Barrow’s Intense ginger liqueur
1 teaspoon Fernet Branca
Club soda
Lemon wedge for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Add the whiskey, Barrow’s, and Fernet to a collins glass. Stir and add a handful of ice. Top off with club soda, give it a gentle stir, then garnish with a lemon wedge. Enjoy.

Full disclosure, Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur sent me a bottle to play with after I gave them a shoutout in a post, but I’ve purchased it with my own damn money before so there.

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