Nail in the Coffin
A Rusty Nail rebuilt with Japanese whisky, dry Madeira, and Fernet.
The Method
How to make it
- 01
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- 02
Stir for 25–30 seconds until properly chilled and diluted.
- 03
Strain into a rocks glass over one large clear cube.
- 04
Express an orange twist over the drink and rest it on the ice.
Bartender's Tip
A quarter-ounce of Fernet is not a rounding error. Measure it. At a half-ounce the drink stops being a whisky cocktail and becomes a Fernet cocktail.
A Little History
Created by San Francisco bartender Brian Means, who built a following for the drink at Dirty Habit, and later published in Daniel Yaffe's book Drink More Whiskey. It's a Rusty Nail in structure — whisky plus a sweet herbal liqueur — with the Scotch-and-Drambuie pairing swapped for something considerably more complicated.
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One short Friday dispatch: a bottle worth buying, a cocktail worth mixing, and a little Italian history.
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