Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Other Cocktails

Chef’s Kiss

By
Kelly Magyarics
Kelly Magyarics
Kelly Magyarics
Kelly Magyarics, DWS, is a wine, spirits, travel, food and lifestyle writer and wine educator.
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Published 03/8/21
Chef's Kiss cocktail

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Jon Pizano, the head bartender at Lazy Bird in Chicago, describes Fernet-Branca as Jägermeister all grown up. “It’s earthy, bitter, mentholated and herbaceous—dry enough to be the base spirit and prominent enough to be used as a modifier,” he says.

Pizano likes the way Fernet-Branca imparts complexity to drinks while cutting through other rich or sweet ingredients. In this equal-parts cocktail that bears more than a passing resemblance to a Naked & Famous, itself a take on a Last Word, he melds the bitter amaro with yellow Chartreuse, which lends complementary notes of honeysuckle, saffron and menthol. “The demerara carries both spirits into a silky smooth jaunt that’s awoken by the bright acidity of the lime juice,” he says.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 ounce Fernet-Branca

  • 3/4 ounce yellow Chartreuse

  • 3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed

  • 3/4 ounce Demerara syrup

  • Garnish: black-sea-salt-coated lime wheel

Steps

  1. Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.

  2. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass.

  3. Garnish with a black-sea-salt-coated lime wheel.