Pour

Black Lily

I'm raising a glass to the town that has an event called San Francisco Cocktail Week​ - "a weeklong celebration of all things cocktilian." 

It means the relentless inspiration to push the boundaries of what makes a great drink is alive and well, which in turn means we'll always have libation worthy of the awesome food they dish out here.

file

Now that's something to celebrate AND another great use for that bottle of Fernet-Branca I bought.

This is the 2012 Official Cocktail of SF Cocktail Week - Black Lily​, and here's the story behind the name and the recipe is below.

Fernet has a very distinct flavor and that part I like, but overall I found this combination a tad too sour so I made a few adjustments. 2 oz Cointreau instead of 1.5 and a teaspoon or so of simple syrup - you can make your own or try this one.

​Black Lily

1.5 oz. Cointreau

1 oz. Fernet Branca

.75 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

Shaken, strained over ice in a rocks glass. Garnished with an orange twist

Hot Buttered Fernet

Admittedly, I'm not much for enduring cold, winter nights - I'm a Southern girl and we like it hot. But I do love the idea of warming up with a "hot toddy". And by that I simply mean a hot cocktail, not the original Hot Toddy that usually involves some kind of whiskey and tales of miraculous powers for fending off cold and flu - at least that's what my grandmother said.

Drinking something that is both hot and imbibed has an immediately comforting effect when you're literally chilled to the bone in my opinion.

However, when it comes to actual drink recipes I realize I only have a few. Well, one really - hot buttered rum. The other "recipes" entail adding something alcoholic to something piping hot - like Baileys in coffee, or brandy in hot apple cider or Kahlúa in hot chocolate.

While all of these will get the job done, I still think my hot toddy repertoire needs a little lift - I need something a bit more complex, more sophisticated.

I am thrilled to stumble upon this article in SFGate which fits the bill perfectly, and it gives me another excuse to crack open that bottle of Fernet-Branca I bought for another recipe a few weeks ago.

Hot Buttered Fernet

Adapted from a recipe by Bradford Scott Knutson, Swing Wine Bar in Olympia, Wash.

  • 3/4 ounce Fernet Branca
  • 3/4 ounce Laird's Applejack
  • 1/2 ounce apricot liqueur
  • 6 ounces apple cider
  • 1 teaspoon spiced butter (see below)

Instructions: Combine all the ingredients, except the butter, in a saucepan; heat. Pour into a coffee cup, add the spiced butter, and stir well.

Spiced butter: Blend together 1/4 pound (1 cube) butter, 4 teaspoons brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and a pinch salt. Wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator.

Still feeling chilly and need a few more ideas? Try these.

Eva Peron

I chose this concoction for this week's happy hour starter for two reasons, well three really.

It's a great way to use up that Domaine de Canton - assuming you still have some on hand from the Ginger-Spiced Paloma and I wanted to experiment with the exotic and complex Italian liqueur known as Fernet-Branca. If you're in the SF Bay Area and want to try Fernet as a shot, the traditional serving method, Mayhem in the Mission District has it on tap.

And finally, how can I resist a cocktail named after the sassy and remarkable Evita?

Eva Peron

(Adapted from a recipe by Darren Crawford and Scott Bordy. Photo by Erick Wong.)

  • 1 ounce Fernet-Branca
  • 1 ounce Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
  • 1 ounce Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
  • 1 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1 ounce ginger beer
  •  Lime wheel, for garnish

Instructions: Combine the Fernet, vermouth ginger liqueur and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Add ice; shake 15-20 seconds. Strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice. Top with ginger beer and garnish with the lime wheel.


¡Salud!