If You Like An Old-Fashioned, You Will Love The Toronto

I introduced my friend Lisa to Fernet Branca and in return, she introduced me to the Toronto. We don’t live in the same city, so I learned about the cocktail on one of our Zoom calls. She went to a bar in her hometown and asked the bartender for a cocktail made with Fernet Branca and fell in love with the Toronto.

I am a long-time fan of Fernet Branca but I sipped it neat. Until the Toronto, I had never made a cocktail with it or thought about mixing it with anything.

For those who have never had Fernet Branca, it is classified as an Italian amaro. It’s a deliciously bitter-sweet spirit made with a combination of natural ingredients like rhubarb, warm spices, chamomile, plants and herbs thought to have medicinal properties. I have 100% “bought into” the medicinal theory and often sip on it to shake off the stress of the day, and settle my stomach. Incidentally, this is why it is also referred to as a “digestif”.

According to Cocktail Culture: Recipes & Techniques from Behind the Bar by Shawn Soole and Nate Caudle, the Toronto cocktail “was first recorded as the Fernet Cocktail in Robert Vermeire’s 1922 edition of Cocktails: How to Mix Them, in which he stated that the cocktail is much appreciated by the Canadians of Toronto.” Soon thereafter the cocktail was known as Toronto.

I had never heard of the Toronto which was originally made with either Cognac or whisky and Fernet Branca. Today, the cocktail is commonly made in the U.S. with rye and is considered a variation on the Old-Fashioned. And, as much as I love an Old-Fashioned, I like the Toronto better. I think the Fernet balances the sweetness and adds a complexity to the drink.

When Lisa visited me recently, I decided to make “Torontos” at home. I looked at recipes online and it is a simple recipe made from Whisky or Rye, Fernet, simple syrup, an orange twist and a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters. The original cocktail recipe called for 50% whiskey and 50% Fernet Branca but all the modern recipes I found only used a small amount of Fernet—about 1 part Fernet to 8 parts whisky.

Since I love Fernet, I made my Toronto variation with twice as much Fernet and maple syrup instead of simple syrup. I wanted to add sweetness with another flavor that would contribute more dimension to the drink—not just temper the bitterness of Fernet. Maple syrup reminds me of Canada and marries very well with whisky and/or rye, it also compliments the herbaceous Fernet.

After I made one, I did a little more digging into the history of the drink, and found that I am not the only person who has opted for the maple syrup. It seems that the cocktail purists look a bit askance at using maple syrup but I guarantee you, it’s harmonious, part of the Canadian terroir and so, why not? If you don’t like maple syrup, feel free to use simple syrup. Finally, I use a clementine twist instead of an orange twist because they pack more citrus-y goodness and aroma, and I love the deep orange color.

The cocktail quickly inserted itself into my drinks rotation, and I made it with American rye until I got a bottle of Alberta Premium Canadian whisky. One sip of the all-rye spirit, and I knew that I needed to make a “Canadian” Toronto.

Alberta Premium is made by Alberta Distillers and it is one of the first Canadian spirits made of 100% local rye and glacier-fed Rocky Mountain spring water. The whisky is sweet with vanilla and autumn spice, smooth and very mellow; and shined bright in my Toronto. The suggested retail is $24.99 for a standard 750ml bottle and IMO, a very good value. It drinks like a much more expensive rye spirit and I will be making my Torontos as the Canadians do from now on.

Toronto

Makes 1 drink

2 ounces Alberta Premium Canadian whisky or other rye

½ ounce Fernet Branca

½ ounce real maple syrup or simple syrup

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Clementine or orange twist

1. Place the Alberta Premium or other rye, Fernet, maple syrup and bitters into a mixing glass and stir until well-chilled.

2. Strain and pour into an Old-Fashioned glass over a large ball/cube of ice or in a Coupe glass straight up. Garnish with a clementine twist.