Fernet con Coca Cocktail Recipe
Argentina's national mix: a bitter, minty herbal liqueur lengthened with cola into a dark, refreshing long drink.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 9%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Fernet60 ml (2 oz)
- Cola180 ml (6.1 oz)
How to Make It
- Fill a highball glass to the top with ice.
- Pour the fernet over the ice.
- Top with cold cola, pouring slowly down the side of the glass to keep the foam.
- Stir once briefly and serve.
Garnish
None — served plain over plenty of ice
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone and it has a green, botanical backdrop.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Fernet
- A bitter, menthol-edged herbal amaro; with very little sugar, it balances the sweetness of cola. Even a small pour dominates, so do not scale it up.
- Cola
- Full-sugar and diet cola do not give the same drink: diet leaves the body thin and the spirit exposed. Plenty of ice and cola added last keeps the fizz.
The Story
Fernet arrived in Argentina with Italian immigrants in the late 19th century; mixing it with cola spread from Córdoba in the second half of the 20th century and became the country's signature drink.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Fernet con Coca mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Fernet con Coca?
- Roughly 9% ABV as served — lighter than a beer — a long-conversation drink that takes a second round.
- Can a Fernet con Coca be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Fernet con Coca hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.