Portland Has Its Own Fernet. It's…Not Great.

Fernet-Branca with a shade of Douglas Fir

By Zach Middleton

Fernet-Branca is the drink of choice for service-industry workers looking for a midshift buzz while keeping their breath minty fresh. So it made perfect sense that Townshend's distillery Thomas & Sons decided to produce a Northwest version: a respected local institution making use of local botanicals (Douglas fir, birch bark, hops) to quench the thirst of a town where servers aren't allowed to imbibe on the clock.

Unfortunately, competing with a product that's 170 years old is hard, and Townshend's overthought the task. On the nose, the fernet has the piney rush of a very herbal gin, which leads to an array of independently nice but collectively disjointed flavors like mint, tobacco and cardamom.

Whereas Fernet-Branca is like smoking a menthol cigarette through your nose, Townshend's fernet is like standing in a burning head shop. Not recommended.

Willamette Week

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Zach Middleton

Zach Middleton

Culture Writer Zach Middleton writes about food and drinks, books, movies, and oddities. Originally from Central Oregon, he now writes out of the University Park neighborhood in North Portland.

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