Liqueurs

Fernet Branca

Fernet-Branca is a Milanese bitter at 39% ABV, made since 1845 from 27 herbs, roots and spices, among them rhubarb, gentian, galangal and chamomile, and rested for a year in oak. It is far more bitter and less sweet than most amari, with a cooling menthol finish. Bartenders use it in small measures, as in the Hanky Panky and the Toronto; in Argentina it goes long with cola.

Quick Facts

ABV39% ABV

Legal categorySpirit drinkSold as a bitter: a bitter-tasting spirit drink in law (retained Reg 110/2008 Annex II cat. 30)

OriginMilan, Italy, since 1845

Flavour Strengthstrong

Our keeping timeYears unopened. Once opened, a year or more kept sealed and out of the light; the fruit and aromatics fade first.

Storage

Sealed and upright, no refrigeration required, though a fridge-cold bottle serves better neat.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes change: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Fernet Branca

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

BitterMentholHerbal

Tasting Notes

Bitter roots and herbs with a strong menthol coolness, little sweetness, and a finish that stays bitter for a long time.

Twenty-seven botanicals and a year in oak

Fratelli Branca has made Fernet-Branca in Milan since 1845 and has never published the recipe. It names some of the 27 herbs, roots and spices and where they come from: rhubarb from China, gentian from France, galangal from India or Sri Lanka, chamomile from Europe or Argentina. They are infused in alcohol, extracted or boiled down, and the mixture spends a year in oak before it is bottled at 39% ABV.

Fernet is a style; Branca is the reference

Fernet names a style of Italian bitter: dark, very bitter, usually low in sugar and often mentholated. Several firms make one, and Fernet-Branca is the bottle most recipes mean. Its producer files it under bitters rather than liqueurs, and at 39% it is close to spirit strength, so in a drink it behaves more like aromatic bitters scaled up than like a sweet amaro.

Fernet-Branca against the bottles it is compared with

Fernet-Branca

Strength: 39% ABV
Sold as: Bitter
Sweetness: Low
Typical dose: 7.5ml in a stirred drink; 50ml with cola

Brancamenta

Strength: Not stated by the producer
Sold as: Bitter liqueur
Sweetness: Higher, mint-led
Typical dose: Over ice, very cold

Averna

Strength: 29% ABV
Sold as: Liqueur
Sweetness: High
Typical dose: Neat; 20ml in place of vermouth

Campari

Strength: 25% ABV
Sold as: Liqueur
Sweetness: High
Typical dose: 30ml in equal-parts drinks

Bottle	Strength	Sold as	Sweetness	Typical dose
Fernet-Branca	39% ABV	Bitter	Low	7.5ml in a stirred drink; 50ml with cola
Brancamenta	Not stated by the producer	Bitter liqueur	Higher, mint-led	Over ice, very cold
Averna	29% ABV	Liqueur	High	Neat; 20ml in place of vermouth
Campari	25% ABV	Liqueur	High	30ml in equal-parts drinks

A small measure in a stirred drink

In the Hanky Panky, Ada Coleman's drink from the Savoy, 7.5ml of Fernet-Branca seasons equal measures of gin and sweet vermouth, bringing menthol to the finish and drying the sweetness. The Toronto, which first appeared in print under another name in the 1920s, puts the same small measure into rye with demerara syrup and Angostura. Pour more and the fernet becomes the subject of the drink.

Long, with cola

Its producer recommends it with cola, chinotto or ginger ale, and credits fernet and cola with its following in Argentina. Our Fernandito pours a 50ml measure over ice and fills the glass with full-sugar cola: about two UK units, stronger than it tastes.

Using it

Using Fernet Branca

Usage

In small doses in stirred drinks: 7.5ml in the Hanky Panky, with 45ml each of gin and sweet vermouth, and 7.5ml in the Toronto, with rye. Long, 50ml in the Fernandito, filled up with cola. Neat or over ice after dinner.

Pro Tip

Taste a Toronto before reaching for more sugar. The recipe's one small spoon of rich demerara syrup is enough against the fernet, and more turns the drink syrupy.

Top Tips

Measure it like a strong bitter: 7.5ml seasons a stirred drink, 25ml takes it over.
Pair it with full-sugar cola; sugar-free versions leave the bitterness bare.
Brancamenta is a different drink, mint-led and sweeter; do not swap it in where Fernet-Branca is named.

Production Method

Twenty-seven herbs, roots and spices from five continents, rhubarb, gentian, galangal and chamomile among them, are infused in alcohol, extracted or boiled down, then left a year in oak before bottling at 39% ABV.

History & Context

Fernet-Branca dates from 1845 in Milan, and Fratelli Branca still keeps its recipe secret. Its producer credits fernet with cola for the drink's following in Argentina. Brancamenta, a sweeter mint version, followed in the 1960s.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is Fernet-Branca?

A dark Italian bitter made in Milan since 1845, at 39% ABV. It is made from 27 herbs, roots and spices, rhubarb, gentian, galangal and chamomile among them, rested for a year in oak. It is far more bitter and less sweet than most amari.

What does Fernet-Branca taste like?

Intensely bitter, with roots and herbs, a strong cooling menthol note and a long, dry finish. There is little sweetness to soften it, so most people meet it first in a mixed drink, with cola or as a small measure in a stirred cocktail, before drinking it neat.

Is Fernet-Branca a liqueur?

Its producer lists it among its bitters, not its liqueurs, and we have not found a published sugar figure that would settle its legal category in the UK. A liqueur needs 100g/L of sugar or more, and fernet is known for being drier than most amari, so treat it as a bitter.

How do you drink Fernet-Branca?

Neat or over ice after a meal; long with cola, chinotto or ginger ale, as its producer suggests; or as a small measure in a stirred drink such as the Hanky Panky or the Toronto. With cola, choose full sugar, since the sweetness is what offsets the fernet.

What is a Hanky Panky?

Equal measures of gin and sweet vermouth, sharpened with Fernet-Branca: Ada Coleman's drink from the Savoy's bar in London. Ours uses 45ml of each with 7.5ml of fernet, stirred. The fernet brings menthol and dark herbs to what would otherwise be a soft, sweet drink.

What is the difference between Fernet-Branca and Brancamenta?

Brancamenta, from the same producer, dates from the 1960s and adds Piedmontese peppermint oil to a herb-and-spice recipe; its producer calls it a bitter liqueur and serves it very cold. It is sweeter and mint-led, and it does not stand in for Fernet-Branca in a recipe that names it.

How strong is Fernet-Branca?

39% ABV, close to spirit strength. The 7.5ml in a Hanky Panky or a Toronto adds only about 0.3 UK units, but the 50ml in a Fernandito is nearly two units, more than a long, cola-topped drink suggests.

Does Fernet-Branca need refrigerating?

No. At 39% ABV nothing in it needs chilling, and an opened bottle with the cap on lasts at least a year away from light. Some people keep it in the freezer to drink it very cold, which softens the bitterness slightly.

Make something

Made with Fernet Branca

Featured In These Cocktails

Toronto Hanky Panky Fernandito

Often Used With

Updated 11 October 2026

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