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Sour

Fernet Sour

Menthol and saffron whipped into a silk-textured sour.

Time

5 min

Difficulty

Intermediate

Glass

Coupe

Method

Shaken

PDF
Fernet Sour cocktail served in a coupe — Menthol and saffron whipped into a silk-textured sour.

The Method

How to make it

  1. 01

    Combine the Fernet, lemon, syrup and egg white in a shaker and dry shake hard for fifteen seconds.

  2. 02

    Add ice and shake again until the tin is painfully cold.

  3. 03

    Double strain into a chilled coupe and let the foam settle for thirty seconds.

  4. 04

    Drop three dots of Angostura on the foam and draw a pick through them.

Bartender's Tip

A little more sugar than a standard sour is correct here. Fernet has almost no residual sweetness and the drink reads harsh at the usual ¾ ounce lemon to ½ ounce syrup ratio.

A Little History

Fernet found its second home in San Francisco, where bartenders drink it by the shot and use it by the barspoon. The full-measure sour is a Bay Area bar move from the late 2000s — proof that the most punishing amaro on the shelf behaves once you give it citrus and protein.

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