Episode 142

Combine all these ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Give em a good, hard shake for about 15 seconds until the drink is thoroughly chilled and appropriately diluted, and then strain into a stemmed cocktail glass and enjoy.

If this formulation looks familiar to you, well, that’s because this is a riff on The Last Word, which follows these exact same ingredient ratios, but swaps out the Fernet for Gin and the Simple Syrup for Maraschino Liqueur. Ounce for ounce, the Industry Sour is a little less boozy with two non-alcoholic ingredients, but the complexity is arguably greater because you’re looking at an Amaro with over 27 herbs and spices, instead of a gin, which generally has anywhere from 5-15 key botanicals.

If you’re familiar with The Last Word format, you can think of the Industry Sour as its deeper, darker cousin. The Fernet Branca plays surprisingly well with the Green Chartreuse because where I think of chartreuse as being fresh, foresty, and chlorophyllic, the Fernet flavor profile bookends those flavors with intense earth and bitterness on the one hand, and piercing menthol on the other. Will it be a challenge for your palate? Most definitely, but we can’t think of a better way to celebrate two of the world’s most iconic cocktail mixers than by combining them in one potent sipper.

Fun Fernet Facts

• Fernet Branca was one of the few alcoholic beverages permitted to be sold in some parts of the United States during Prohibition. This led to its ascendance in places like San Francisco, where it remains popular to this day.

• It is alleged that Fernet Branca uses up to 75% of the world’s saffron supply. However, this fact is hard to verify.

• Argentina consumes more Fernet than any other country, and most of it is consumed as Fernet & Coke. The drink is assembled in a modified 2L plastic soda bottle with a ratio of 70% cola to 30% Fernet. It is then enjoyed communally as a passed common cup.

Fernet Resources

• Amaro – Brad Thomas Parsons

• Cocktail Chemistry Calculator

• Fernet Branca Website

• Fernet Leopold Product Page

• Fernet Francisco Website

• Fred Jerbis Importer (Oliver McCrum Wines & Spirits) – upon contacting their sales team, we learned that this spirit is available in the following markets: California (Oliver McCrum Wines & Spirits), Minnesota (The Wine Company), New York (PM Spirits), Nevada (Vin Sauvage and Crooked Wine Company), North Carolina (Proof Wine & Spirits), Oregon (Estelle Imports), Washington (Moda Beverage).

Lightning Round

Favorite Cocktail

The Negroni is the cocktail format I have the most fun playing around with. I will say, though, that after doing this Fernet video, I came across the Industry Sour (see above), and it is fantastic.

If You Were a Cocktail Ingredient, What Would You Be?

I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, and I’m from Seattle originally, so I’d have to go with a coffee liqueur.

Cocktail with Anyone, Past or Present

I’ll have to go with Hemingway Daiquiris in Cuba with Ernest Hemingway because he had a good palate for cocktails and he has some of the most interesting stories of anyone ever.

What is a Common/Traditional Cocktail Ingredient You’ve Never Tasted?

I’ve never had Midori. I think, for obvious reasons, I want to stay away from intensely artificial colors/flavors. But I’m coming around to it a bit from a visual standpoint.