Drinking in Buenos Aires - Fernet and Gancia

I was warned to bring my own liquor to Buenos Aires.  However, as an explorer of all things alcoholic, I threw caution and three sheets in the wind and attempted a life not so distant from the Argentine drunkard.  My findings?  The libations brought by the millions of Italian immigrants.

My two favorites were Fernet and Gancia.  Gancia is the common name for Gancia’s Aperitivo Originale, a wine based, botanically enhanced, Italian vermouth.  Gancia is drunk straight, on the rocks, with a twist of lemon, a splash of soda, or a shot of vodka.  With 14.5% alcohol included, it’ll pack a punch no matter how it’s served.

Fernet, a bitter Italian liqueur, surrounds itself with almost as much folklore as the infamous absinthe.  This thick syrupy liquor lacks subtlety with a typical 40% alcohol and a slew of rather boisterous herbs.  The common Argentine cocktail is a mix of Fernet Branca and coca cola.  Since there are no open container laws in bs as, most of the Argentines you see with a coke in their hand, may quite likely have fernet in there as well.