It’s not until you’re 3rd or 4th Fernet that you begin to understand…Hey, this sh%t works! Because it does. The goop is 80 proof and mixed with the sugar and caffeine of Coke, you’re gonna feel pretty aggressive and down to dance and breed. It somehow magically combines with the bumping atmosphere of the Argentine club scene in a dangerously synergistic way.
photo: comosedicekj.com
You think we have good parties in the USA? Think again. Nothing in the US compares to the clubs down here. People don’t “hang out.” They get f$%ked up on Fernet y Coca, dance, make-out for hours, and stay out until 8am every weekend night. It’s almost too much. But so is Fernet and so are a lot of things in Argentina. That’s why us Yanquis love it down here.
What is Fernet?
– First off, it’s 40 % alcohol (80 proof)
– Created as a medicinal herbal remedy said to cure indigestion, menstrual cramps, colic, cholera, and pretty much anything
– It was legal during American Prohibition as it was “medicinal alcohol”
– 27 different herbs in secret recipe including South African aloe, gentian root, chamomile, iris, rhubarb, gum myrrh, red cinchona bark, galanga, cinnamon, zedoary, and yellow Iranian saffron.
– Created in 1845 and the recipe remains unchanged
– Bernardino Branca, Italian who created the concoction
– Dr. Fernet, a likely fictional Swedish doctor who endorsed it’s medicinal qualities and health benefits
– 6.5 million bottles, the amount of Fernet that the Argentine province of Cordoba consumes each year.
– They say Fernet is an acquired taste…Yeah, no sh^t, so is any sort of poison that turns your insides out.
What’s it Taste Like?
– Poison. But, a specific kind of poison. It’s Jaegermeister meets mouthwash meets cough syrup. With a consitency very similar to cough syrup. It’s thick, earthy, herby, licorice-y, and when mixed with Coke has a crazy brown choking foam you’ve gotta navigate thru.
Awesome Russian Fernet Ad. Dog licking whip cream off model.
Throw some Coke in there and now you’ve got you’re Argentine version of Red Bull & Vodka but with a less gittery more groovy mouth & body feel. The Coke also adds a delectable choking brown foam you’ve gotta navigate your lips thru.
The overall experience is atrocious, cultural, right of passage-esque, acceptance inducing, then good, damn good, confusing, and eventually you’re making out with someone you’ve met 1.3 minutes earlier for up 3 hours yet no less than 34 minutes.
Widely experienced results from too much Fernet y Coca. photo: blogguercedario.com
Killer Facebook page “NO TOMES LA COCA Q ES PARA EL FERNET LA PUTA Q T PARIO !!!” which translates to “DON’T DRINK THE COKE, IT’S FOR FERNET, THE WHORE WHO BIRTHED YOU!!!!” If you didn’t see the Insane Argie Profanity Video, you need to watch it now. I’m still snickering…