The Hanky Panky
October rolled around and upon careful and quick consideration, I determined that my liquor cabinet was quite empty. Which meant it was time to try something new. Since amari are always “fun” additions, I selected Fernet-Branca. Now, to be honest, I hadn’t done much research. I remember seeing it on lists of amari to try, but I didn’t remember any specifics. It was on sale. It was in a drink in Maggie Hoffman’s Batch Cocktails, which I am kind of obsessed with (why am I obsessed with batch cocktail book in the year 2020 where we don’t hang out in groups? I do not know. I’m not even batching any of these cocktails. But Maggie Hoffman is a genius and I’ll take whatever I can get from her.)
It was, perhaps, a mistake.
Fernet-Branca, as it turns out, is an “acquired taste.” It is “complex.” It is “kind of disgusting.” Someone took a very bitter amaro and thought, “You know what this needs? Listerine.” The first cocktail I tried was some variation of an Italian Mule - ginger beer and Fernet-Branca. It was…okay. Kit liked it well enough, so that was a win at least. But I tucked Fernet-Branca in the back of cabinet and vowed to put in a little more research before blindly purchasing an amaro again.
However, I’m not one to back down from a challenge here: I don’t want to be pickier than I need to be, plus if I’m going to write posts about high-brow, fancy cocktails, I better at least pretend to like complex flavors. So, when I was flipping through a book called “The Best Shot You’ve Never Tried” and found a shot with Fernet-Branca included, I decided it was…..worth a shot.
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(⌐■_■)This claimed to be a shot version of the Hanky Panky, which is evidently the cocktail that Fernet-Branca is famous for. And it was really good! It seems that the key is to have an extremely small amount of Fernet-Branca in the drink. I have since made the “full” version, aka the real cocktail, not the shot version. And I’ve had it multiple times! So I can honestly recommend it. But just come get a few drops of Fernet from me, don’t go buying a whole bottle.
Hanky Panky
1.5 oz gin
1.5 oz sweet vermouth
a few drops of Fernet-Branca
Stir with ice, pour into chilled coup glass. Garnish with lemon peel or orange peel. Add some orange bitters if you’re feeling crazy.