Argentina has strong cultural links to Italy due to the large number of migrants which travelled across the Atlantic in the early 19th century. As well as the Italian influences on the cuisine, culture and architecture it has also help to define their somewhat unique taste in alcohol.
Fernet-Branca was introduced to us by a group of Argentinians who were travelling in Uruguay, they told us about their love of the Italian liquor and offered us a drink to try. They said it was best served with ice and coke, which is what they gave us.
The taste is an unexpected mix of herbs, flowers, roots and plants. In total 27 different herbs are used to create this distinctive blend. Trying to pinpoint all the different flavours with just one glass was difficult and we were still unsure whether we even liked it so we decided to invest in our own bottle to try again.
Our second attempt did not go as well. We didn’t have ice and in a bid to reduce or calorie intake we decided to use diet coke instead. This wasn’t good and ended up tasting like drinking mouthwash. We tried again with full fat coke but the results were similar. Maye we needed the ice.
It may not be to everyone’s taste but it would certainly make an interesting aperitif at a dinner party.
