Fernandito highball with Fernet Branca and cola in an old-fashioned glass over ice

IBA

Fernandito – IBA

Name: Fernandito – IBA
Prep time: 2 min
Total time: 2 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: Fernet Branca liqueur — 50 ml (1 2/3 oz); Cola — 120 ml (4 oz)

A bitter, bubbly and refreshing aperitif & bitters cocktail ∙ Build ∙ 2 min ∙ 9.6% ABV ∙

The Fernandito is a two-ingredient highball of Fernet Branca and cola, built over ice in an old-fashioned glass.

Ingredients

Servings

Instructions for 1 serving

Pre-chill a glass
Pour the Fernet Branca liqueur 50 ml into a double old fashioned glass with ice, fill the glass up with Cola 120 ml
Stir gently

Tips

Fill the glass with large cubes before pouring; 120 ml of cola on 50 ml of Fernet is already a long drink, and slow-melting ice keeps it from going watery.

History

The Fernandito, also known as fernet con coca or fernando, is Argentina's mix of fernet and cola. It is an offshoot of the country's long-standing habit of drinking Fernet-Branca, an Italian amaro brought over by Italian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The drink's own origin is poorly documented and mixed with legend, though it is generally agreed to have emerged in Córdoba Province, and is closely tied to Córdoba city. Some accounts trace it to the 1950s as a softer variation on fernet mixed with soda water. Others credit its invention to Oscar "el Negro" Becerra, a bartender and drummer from Cruz del Eje, who is said to have combined fernet with cola instead of soda in the 1970s. The combination spread through Córdoba's university and nightlife culture in the 1970s and 1980s before becoming popular nationwide, aided by a joint marketing campaign between Fratelli Branca and Coca-Cola launched in the 1990s.

In 2020, the International Bartenders Association added it to its official list under the name Fernandito, in the New Era Drinks category, making it the first Argentine cocktail to receive that recognition.