Fratelli Francoli Distillerie started in 1875 in the northern Italian region of Valtellina, which borders Switzerland and is also the home to the iconic Alpino-style amaro Braulio. By the 1960s, the family-owned business moved operations to Ghemme in Piedmont but, through sourcing bitter herbs and botanicals from the base of Alpe di Noveis, the spirit of the Italian Alps is felt in each sip of their signature amaro, Francolio Antico Amaro Noveis. The Antico Fernet Noveis, however, is still a relatively new import, and it’s worth seeking out. 

From its jet-black hue to its bold bitter bite, Antico Fernet Noveis can cause a rather intense meet-cute. While it’s tempting to swap this expression into cocktails that call for Fernet-Branca, it’s best to experience the robust and profoundly aromatic Noveis as a neat-pour digestivo or chilled with ice first, in order to appreciate its aromatic herbaceousness. But if you want to try it in a drink, I recommend starting with the Toronto or Eeyore’s Requiem.

Girolamo Luxardo S.p.A. was founded in 1821 in Zara—then part of the Austrian Empire and now modern-day Zadar, Croatia—where the Luxardo family perfected their namesake maraschino liqueur for more than a century until the devastating aftermath of World War II forced the business to relocate and rebuild in Torreglia in Italy’s Veneto region. Today, their extensive portfolio features acclaimed liqueurs and distillates, including this fernet, which has been in production since 1889. While not exactly a new fernet by any means, it’s an oft-overlooked expression that’s worthy of further exploration.

The inky hued Luxardo Fernet is mentholated and minty, with a bitter bite from gentian and a distinctive licorice aroma layered with vibrant saffron. Robby Dow, owner of the Italo-inspired day-to-night cafe and cocktail bar Bespoke in Wilmington, North Carolina, considers this fernet “adjacent to Branca but lighter, more savory and drier.” He uses it in Bespoke’s signature Amari Cola, made with Luxardo, Brancamenta, housemade cola syrup, lime and seltzer. “The savory touch works really well to tame and balance the sweet juicy notes from cola,” he says.

Founded in Ascoli Piceno in Italy’s Marche region in 1870, Ditta Silvio Meletti is known around the world for its acclaimed liqueurs, especially the award-winning Anisette and Amaro Meletti, a favorite among American bartenders. According to Matteo Meletti, who with his brother Mauro represents the fifth generation of his family’s namesake business, the brand’s fernet has been around since the beginning. The inaugural Meletti fernet was extremely dry and bitter, as was custom during that time. Mauro Meletti gave it a glow-up for modern palates, dialing down the gentian, slightly increasing the level of sugar and adding a touch of peppermint.

For Brynn Smith, bar director of West Hollywood’s Bar Next Door, Meletti Fernet is a go-to bottle. “There’s the expected menthol and eucalyptus notes, but there’s also hints of coffee and dark chocolate, so the depth and nuances of this product allows some fun cocktail variations,” she says. One of those is the Doheny Drive, a Boulevardier riff that swaps sweet vermouth out for Meletti Fernet. Bespoke’s Dow, meanwhile, praises it for showcasing how dynamic the fernet category can be. With its notes of cacao, mint, orange zest and coffee, he says, “it’s just dying to be shaken up in a Grasshopper or Alexander or stirred into a lovely Stinger.”

Launched in 2018 on Washington’s Bainbridge Island, family-owned Highside Distilling channels owner and distiller Matt Glenn’s love of Scotland’s Highlands and Speyside regions, filtered through the lens of the Pacific Northwest. The “bold, dark and ominous” Fernet Lario takes inspiration from the mythical Lariosauro, Italy’s own version of the Loch Ness Monster. The foundation of Fernet Lario is Highside’s house, apple cider-based gin, which is vapor-infused with 10 botanicals and then macerated with six additional botanicals before resting in ex-rye whiskey barrels. “The apple base, essentially an apple eau de vie, lends this beautiful mouthfeel and perceived sweetness that makes up for the lack of sugar in the finished product,” says Glenn. 

While it’s currently only available for sale in Washington State, this fernet is one to watch. Bartenders at top Seattle bars have become fans, and it’s not just hometown pride. At Barnacle and The Walrus and the Carpenter, bar manager Dakin Pollard combines Fernet Lario and Highside’s Amaro Mele in the Smash Bros: Mele, a fruit-forward bitter spritz topped off with grapefruit soda. “At Barnacle, we are always excited about local amaro,” says Pollard. “I don’t know of any other amari that uses apples, and it has a touch more spice and more of a bite than other fernet on the market.”

After visiting dozens of distilleries around the world, in 2021 veteran bartender Tatsuya “Moto” Montonaga established his own, Iseya Distillery, in a century-old house in Kanagawa Prefecture, just south of Tokyo. He rents out a nearby farm where he grows many of the botanicals used to make a range of limited-release, Italian-inspired amari, including Scarlet Fernet Amaro, which landed stateside in 2024. One common bittering agent you won’t find in the mix is gentian root, which is subject to strict regulations as a food and drink additive in Japan. He instead achieves the desired level of bitterness through a combination of aloe ferox and chicory.

Coming in a few notches lower in proof than most fernet permits the nuanced umami notes of this amaro to shine through. “Scarlet Fernet hits with bold, botanical aromatics up front but the palate tells a different story: smooth, layered and surprisingly soft,” says Capucine Prager, a bartender at the Japanese-style Lower East Side cocktail den Bar Goto. There, Prager turns to Scarlet Fernet in a Japanese whisky-based riff on Seattle bartender Jamie Boudreau’s Cooper’s Cocktail (rye, St-Germain and fernet). “You can taste the elderflower in the Scarlet Fernet, so it’s a natural fit,” she says. “It’s the fernet I reach for when I want it to either take center stage or support other flavors without bulldozing them.”