Meletti | Fernet and a Legacy of Flavour.
Bartenders’ Secret Handshake
Polarising is one way to describe Fernet. When first smelling it, you either love it or hate it. It is an acquired taste and the less-than-subtle Listerine, savoury spices and liquorice characters are bound to make an impression. If this first impression is good, you may not be able to explain why. Like Amaro, this minty sensation is part of the extensive category of bittersweet herbal Italian digestif liquors usually relegated to the end of a meal.
But walk into a bar and order a shot of it first thing, and you’ll instantly get a nod of approval from the person on the other side. As a newcomer to the party, ordering Fernet straight off the bat will give you as much street cred as ordering the most audacious dish on a restaurant menu. As you become an aficionado, you’ll come to appreciate how complicated, challenging and stimulating Fernet is. What's certain is that it will definitely make you look cooler when you’re out.
Meletti Fernet
Ascoli Piceno’s Mediterranean climate and clayey soil provide the perfect environment to grow the fine spices that make Meletti’s Fernet. Like terroir for wine, the locally grown botanicals epitomise the flavours of their region. While there is a dozen of Fernets produced in Italy and the rest of the world today, Fernet’s roots are deeply regional.
The wealth of botanical ingredients contributes to Fernet’s distinctive taste. They include cardamom, myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile and saffron, among others. Grape spirits make up the base, with each distiller choosing a different take in their guarded proprietary blend. For that reason, Fernet couldn’t be further from a mass-produced product.
The Meletti Fernet is a dark amber in colour. The nose is herbaceous and complex with balsamic notes. On the palate, a beginning of spice evolves to balsamic with mint, and finishes with bitter gentian root. It has a very long and persistent finish, clean and balanced – the signature of Meletti liqueurs.
A stomach settler and a breath freshener, this liqueur is full-on minty from first sip straight through to exhale. The moderately bitter midpalate offers hints of dark chocolate, espresso and allspice. There's a passing resemblance to thin-mint cookies if you squint. Kara Newman, Wine Enthusiast - 90 points.
The Difference Between Fernet and Amaro
Both Amaro and Fernet are deeply rooted – see what we did there? - in Italy’s history of producing medicinal concoctions that later found a new purpose, with the first Fernet recipe formulated by Italian doctor, Dr. Fernet.
In 1840, the formula was modified to be more palatable, which instilled new life into the liquor and renewed drinkers’ passions all around the world who started drinking it for enjoyment.
Apart from having a higher ABV (around 40%), the main difference between Fernet and Amaro is that Fernet is dry, with some newer versions expressing more fruity or spicy characters. Fernet is typically on the heavier end of the Amaro bitterness spectrum, and with sharper flavours. It may have gone through a few iterations but the best have fundamentally remained the same for the last 182 years.
Argentina’s National Drink
In Argentina, Fernet with Coke is the locals’ drink of choice at every gathering and party. It’s a national staple, which makes Argentina the biggest consumer of Fernet in the world. In fact, Fernet con coca is so popular in the capital that many cocktail bars have resorted to removing it from their menu to encourage people to order other drinks. So high is the demand for it that Argentina is home to the only Fernet Branca distillery outside of Italy.
The history of Fernet con Coca’s rise to fame in Argentina dates to 1870, when the Milanese amaro company Societa Fratelli Branca decided to promote the product and establish a market for it in Argentina, where an increasing number of Italian immigrants got established.
Then in 1925, Hofer & Co., a Buenos Aires based company with exclusive distribution rights to Fernet Branca in Argentina, was allowed to build a factory to produce Fernet Branca on site to cater to the growing demand. Fratelli Branca purchased the factory in 1940. To this day, Argentina consumes 75% of all Fernet-Branca produced worldwide.
Mixing Fernet with Coke might seem counterintuitive, but trust us, the all-at-once bitter, sweet, minty, and herbaceous drink will grow on you. Fernet adds herbal notes and black liquorice, while Coke adds a balancing touch of sweet caramel and vanilla.
The perfect ratio of Fernet to Coke is ardently debated, meaning it’s a choose-your-own adventure kind of cocktail. Let’s say a 1:3 ratio allows the sweetness of Coke to stand up to the incisive flavours of Fernet. For an optimal drinking experience, it must be served icy cold and in a tall glass to allow the velvety foam to the top without overflowing down the sides.
Fernet-Branca vs Meletti Fernet
When Fernet went from being a cholera treatment to a commercial success in the 1840s, the recipe was slightly enhanced. At one point in time, it might even have contained opiates. And it may or may not cure your hangover. But to this day no one knows the exact recipe and proportions. Although some of the ingredients are publicly known (gentian, galanga, chamomile, rhubarb, and the holy grail of spices, saffron), some remain a jealously guarded secret that fuels drinkers’ curiosity, and ours.
A blend of such diverse ingredients produces a very complex, layered taste that comes across in different nuances to different people. This is what makes drinking Fernet such a personal experience. So, we decided to stack Meletti Fernet up against Fernet-Branca and here’s what we found.
Fernet-Branca 750ml - $80.00 RRP
Fernet-Branca has a dark caramel colour. The nose is lively with intense flavours of burnt caramel, citrus pith and spearmint. The palate is two-tiered, with a base of preserved citrus and an earthy and herbal bitterness with hints of confected cough lollies climaxing in a bitter menthol finish. The spirit stands out with a bone dry end. If you were to ask someone else, they would likely have a totally different perspective.
Meletti Fernet 750ml - $75.00 RRP
Meletti Fernet has a much lighter gold hue, but don’t be fooled. The nose is so seductive and intensely perfumed with burnt orange skin, orange blossom, cardamom, and toffee. The palate is round and extremely complex, with caramelized apple, orange zest and sun-dried herb characters. It’s lengthy with a soft, sweet release that makes it much more compelling and approachable.
Caffè Meletti and the Meletti Legacy
The Meletti Company was founded in Ascolio Piceno in 1870 by Silvio Meletti, who applied his research and specialisation in distillation to create a product of exceptional quality that would hold up to the foreign anisettes. Silvio brought his distinguished liqueurs to the European market, where his remarkable Anisette and Fernet set Meletti up for success. After over a century, Silvio’s original recipes, his legacy, are his great-great grandchildren’s inspiration for the entire Meletti range.
So intricately woven into the local culture is Meletti that an entire café is dedicated to it. The Caffè Meletti is an institution, a socio-cultural meeting place that’s been recognised by the Ministry of Cultural and Environmental Heritage as 'local of historical and artistic renown’, where beauty can be savoured in situ. Since its inauguration in the heart of the city’s central Piazza del Popolo in 1907, Caffè Meletti has been showcasing the Meletti liqueurs in the splendour of an Art Nouveau décor.
Today, locals and vacationers can spend any time of the day in a place rich in history, charm and elegance whilst sipping on Anisetta con la mosca, a glass of Anisetta served with a coffee bean. The cafeteria is complete with a desserteria which offers traditional homemade delicacies, and a gelati parlour. Visitors can indulge in extensive lunch and dinner offerings made of locally sourced ingredients. In its restaurant, the seasonal menu caters for all special occasions and gatherings of all sorts, with a simplicity and emotion that makes every time spent there extra special. It’s a place that leaves no visitor indifferent.
Location:
Piazza del Popolo,
56, 63100 Ascoli Piceno AP
Italy
Vaite Teriierooiterai
Our fine wine ambassador and inhouse wine writer. Born and raised in French Polynesia, Vai’s journey led her to South Australia 8 years ago, where she earned a Masters of Wine Business and made a life of fine Australian wine and food for herself. Whilst thriving in a diversity of customer-centric roles, Vai has grown strong roots in the local wine trade. When she is not catching up with friends and soaking up the exhilarating atmosphere of Adelaide’s booming wine bars and restaurants, Vai’s world revolves around learning about the intricacies of wine in preparation for her Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Diploma.