brancinha

2 oz Fernet Branca
1 oz Sugar
1 Lime

Cut Lime into eights. Muddle lime pieces and sugar in a rocks glass. Add Fernet Branca and stir. Fill with ice and stir again.
After trying the recipe for the Camparinha, a Caipirinha with the cachaça swapped out for Campari, I wondered what other interesting liqueurs could be substituted. Soon my mind wandered to the concept of a Fernet Branca one! The pairing seemed natural since Fernet Branca and lime are rather complementary flavors such as in the Fernet Buck and Fernet Fix. Moreover, it seemed like a great hybrid of Brazil's favorite drink, the Caipirinha, and Argetina's, Fernet Branca (often mixed with Coca Cola though). For a name, I opted for the Brancinha instead of the Fernetinha. The drink had a simple combination of the Fernet Branca's herbal notes combined with the lime's juice and skin oils. While the lime juice worked well with the Fernet as I expected from previous drinks, I was quite surprised at how well the bitter lime peel oil accented the Fernet Branca's flavor. While the flavor was not as mild as the Fernet Fix, the Brancinha made for a great South American-inspired digestif.