Fred Jerbis "25" Chestnut Barrel Fernet

700ml bottle

34% abv

25 different botanicals infused together in nearly pure alcohol, including masterwort, chamomile, bitter orange peel, yarrow (Achillea Moschata), mugo pine, Chinese rhubarb, bay laurel, yellow gentian (Gentiana Lutea), peppermint, saffron, dandelion, licorice.

Matured in chestnut barrels.

COLOR: deep and dark, from the infusion of the plants. No color added, unusually.

AROMA: Strong mint and rhubarb notes

FLAVOR: Savory and sumptuous, the chestnut barrel maturation adds structure and the Fernet finishes with mint and herbal flavors.

Use: the classic use is straight, after dinner, as a digestivo, but it also works well in a Manhattan as the vermouth substitute. Toronto (rye whiskey Manhattan with Fernet).

Federico ‘Fred’ Cremasco is a remarkable young producer of Vermouth, Bitter, Amaro, Gin and Fernet from the town of Polcenigo, in Friuli. You could call him an herbalist; he devises recipes for his products from combinations of botanicals, some foraged wild nearby, some grown by him, some brought in from other areas, then creates his elixirs from these botanicals using varying methods of extraction. 

He has experimented endlessly, trying out different methods of extraction (alcoholic distillation, steam distillation, cold maceration of fresh herbs, cold maceration of dried herbs, and hot maceration of fresh and dried herbs) to discover which method best suits the individual botanical. He then devises recipes for his alcoholic elixirs from combinations of these botanical extractions.

For most of the products, each botanical is treated individually, to make sure that the exact right level of extraction is reached for each substance; many producers throw everything in together (indeed many producers buy pre-made ‘amaro base’ from large companies who specialize in such things, just adding sugar and water). Fred takes enormous care in his work and the result is a collection of some of the highest quality spirits we’ve ever tasted with layers of flavor and a sense of place.