Fernet February: "The Vested Bartender" from Boneta

Welcome back to Fernet February, where we will be enjoying a new, original cocktail each post from the creative minds of bartenders in the Pacific Northwest.

Today's cocktail comes from the lovely bar and restaurant, Boneta, hidden in the brick alleys of Vancouver's Gastown. It has one of the best cocktail programs in Vancouver, and some of the best service I've had here in the city as well. You can see my review of Boneta here.

The cocktail was created by Mathieu Faure, an excellent bartender in skill and service, and also one of the few ways to get Amer Picon in Vancouver (as he has his father send over a couple bottles occasionally from France). "The Vested Bartender," as he calls it, has an interesting bitter bite to it along with a lot of herbal texture, but is also balanced nicely by the sweetness from the amaro and Maraschino. It makes a great aperitif before dinner, or just a nice early evening sipper.

The Vested Bartender
The next best thing to having one at home...

45ml Beefeater gin
20ml Ramazzotti Amaro
10ml Maraschino liqueur
5ml Fernet Branca
2 dashes Regan’s Orange bitters

Stir and serve in a cocktail coupe with a small twist of orange zest.

Now for those of you (like me) who use jiggers with ounce measurements rather than mL measurements, here is the basic translation (though note that these had to be approximated a little bit, and using the mL measurements is the proper way to go to achieve the taste that was intended):

1.5oz Beefeater gin
2/3oz Ramazzotti Amaro
1/3oz Maraschino liqueur
1/6oz Fernet Branca
2 dashes Regan’s Orange bitters
Now that is a little tough to accomplish as most jiggers only have 1/4 and 1/2 measurements, but you can guess at it by doing a little less than 3/4oz Ramazzotti, a little less than 1/2 Maraschino, and a little less than 1/4 Fernet. Taste as you're stirring. I found I overdid the Maraschino a little bit, and added too little Ramazzotti.

In the end, you should definitely head down to Boneta and taste this drink as properly made by the staff at Boneta, and stick around and try some other drinks as well because they have some great selections on their menu. If Mathieu is there to make you "The Vested Bartender" himself, have him also make you a Brooklyn or be adventurous and try a Trinidad Sour (Boneta is where I tried my first one). If you don't know what that is, you're in for a delicious surprise.

Thank you to Mathieu for this cocktail, and thank you to Simon Kaulback, the general manager of Boneta, for submitting the recipe and for running such an excellent establishment.
Sante, my friends!

Please share your favourite Fernet cocktails, or your original creations below in the comments section!
And, be sure to stop by again in a few days for another original creation using Fernet by another local bar...

[[ see the Fernet February introduction here ]]
[[ see the "Gastown Swizzle" from L'Abattoir here ]]
[[ see the "Dark and Fernet-y" from Rob Roy here ]]
[[ see the "Chinatown Sour" from The Keefer here ]]
[[ see "Pandemonium" from Veneto Tapa Lounge here ]]
[[ see "The Bittercup" from Pourhouse here ]]
[[ see "The Parliament" from The Diamond here ]]
[[ see "Parliament Hill" from The Hideout here ]]
[[ see "The Lucky Lady" from The Refinery here ]]
[[ see "The Denny Triangle" from Jamie Boudreau / Canon here ]]