Fernet Branca Menta Liqueur

Brancamenta is a 750mL mint amaro from Fratelli Branca in Milan, Italy — the house's famous Fernet botanical recipe enriched with essential oil of Piedmontese peppermint, matured slowly for over twelve months in oak casks, for a pour that lands bitter first and ice-fresh second. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.

• Size: 750mL
• Style: Mint amaro / bitter liqueur
• Key ingredient: Essential oil of Piedmontese peppermint
• Base: The Fratelli Branca botanical recipe behind Fernet-Branca
• Maturation: Over 12 months in oak casks
• Origin: Fratelli Branca, Milan, Italy — created in the 1960s

Fernet's Cooler Sibling, and the Callas Legend

House legend at Fratelli Branca tells it this way: Maria Callas, the great soprano, liked her Fernet-Branca with mint before performing — and in the 1960s the house bottled the idea, building its secret botanical recipe around Piedmontese peppermint oil and resting it over a year in oak. Legend or not, the result is real: recognisably Fernet in its bitter structure, unmistakably mint in the glass, and sweeter and more approachable than its famous sibling. Pour it beside the original Fernet-Branca, see both on the Fernet Branca vendor page, or explore the wider liqueurs shelf.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Intense, fresh peppermint over bitter herbs. Palate: Mint leads, then the warm bitter depth of the Fernet base pushes through — fresher and rounder than Fernet-Branca itself. Finish: Long, cooling and bittersweet.

How to Enjoy

Serve it well chilled or over ice, straight — the house's whole campaign for Brancamenta is built around drinking it ice-cold. It also takes kindly to cola, and bartenders reach for it in Stinger-style serves.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Brancamenta and Fernet-Branca? They share the house botanical recipe, but Brancamenta is built around Piedmontese peppermint oil — fresher, mint-led and more approachable where Fernet-Branca is dry, austere and intensely bitter.

How should Brancamenta be served? Ice-cold is the house serve — well chilled or over ice, straight, so the mint and bitter herbs stay in balance.

When was Brancamenta created? In the 1960s, by Fratelli Branca in Milan. The house tells the origin as a legend: opera singer Maria Callas took her Fernet-Branca with mint before performances, and the habit inspired the recipe.

Bitter first, ice-fresh second — order Brancamenta from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.