Easter is finally over and after a small trip to the eternal city of Rome I want to continue by presenting a nice cocktail in which the famous Italian Amaro Fernet Branca is used. Most people will certainly know it as a bitter (“Amaro” simply means bitter) and some of you might even have had one of those just a few hours ago as a digestif after an opulent Easter dinner.

However, in the Golden Gate Swizzle Cocktail the Fernet Branca does not appear in its pure form but joins in with other ingredients accompanying its complex bitter notes. We’re still dealing with a certainly bitter cocktail, which can also work quite well as some kind of extended digestif. Mint and orange in addition to the spices of Falernum and additional bitters blend together in this cocktail alongside the sweetness of orgeat and fresh citrus aspects.

Swizzles are cocktails that are usually stirred with crushed ice and a Siwzzlestick. But you can also easily use a longer bar spoon, letting the spoon handle rotate between your palms in order to stir the drink. The intention behind all of this is to create a special cooling effect due to the rapid stirring of the cocktail. The drink is finished when the outside of the glass becomes foggy from the cold. Most famous of all swizzles will certainly be the Rum Swizzle.

Recipe:

4.5 cl Fernet Branca
3 cl lemon juice
3 cl orgeat
approx. 8 mint leaves (+ more for garnish)
0.5 cl Falernum
4 Dashes Orange Bitters
4 Dashes Angostura

Preparation:

Simply build up all the ingredients in a glass filled with crushed ice. Then “swizzle” the drink vigorously with your bar spoon or Swizzlestick between your palms (see above) until the outside of the glass turns foggy.

Glass: Highball or Collins

Garnish: additional twigs of mint and an orange slice

Buying Sources: Fernet Branca can be obtained very easily in any supermarket. Orgeat (a special kind of almond syrup) is acquirable in larger supermarkets, health food stores or in specialized stores. Falernum and bitters could possibly be harder to find outside of liqueur and bar stores. Of course you will find anything in various places on the internet. Fresh mint I always like to buy in Turkish supermarkets.