Fernet Branca Bitter, Italy (39%, 70cl)

Born in Milan's Piazza del Duomo in 1845, Fernet-Branca remains the uncompromising patriarch of Italian amari - a 39% ABV symphony of 27 herbs and spices that has weathered wars, prohibition, and changing tastes without altering its secret recipe. The exact botanicals remain guarded in the original vaults, though saffron's golden warmth, myrrh's resinous depth, and aloe's bracing bitterness are detectable beneath its inky black hue.

The aroma hits like an antique medicine chest - mentholated eucalyptus, aged leather, and burnt caramel swirling above a base of dried mushrooms and iron-rich soil. The palate delivers dark chocolate-covered espresso beans upfront before peppermint oil's chill spreads across the tongue, finally surrendering to gentian root's relentless, mouth-coating bitterness that lingers like a Lombardy winter.

In Milan, they take it room temperature as a digestif, often chased with hot espresso. Argentineans mix it with cola for a cult favorite highball. Modern bartenders deploy drops to cut through creamy cocktails, or pair it with chocolate desserts where its bitterness becomes sophistication.

Available at our Copenhagen store or for EU-wide delivery.