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| Jelínek, Branca, Vallet |
We'd recently acquired 3 different kinds of Fernet, the dark, bitter, brooding herbaceous liquor: classic Branca from Italy, Jelínek from the Czech Republic, and Vallet from Mexico.
In response to our demands of the phone, Google helpfully suggested this recipe:
1.5 ounce Fernet
1.5 ounce Gin
1 ounce Sweet Vermouth
dash or Orange Bitters
We willingly complied, making the same cocktail with different Fernets. They looked different and tasted very different.
My favorite was the one with Jelínek, whose sweet edge made for a comfortable cocktail, with a pleasant sweetness balanced by appropriate bitterness. Irene's preference was for the Vallet version, whose darker moods expressed hints of Cardamom, but I found too murky. Interestingly, neither of us chose the one with the ür-Fernet, Branca: it retained its ferocious bitterness, but with the dilution by gin it evinced more complexity than we usually experience when drinking it neat or on a single rock.
When we do this again, I'd keep the same proportions for the Jelínek, but back out the Fernet in the Branca and Vallet versions.
