Tag: culture

Fernet and Coke

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A brief, uplifting note about an Argentine tradition that I’ve come to enjoy over these past few months: Fernet con Coca Cola, or, simply “Fernet and Coke.” Note: I wrote this post in 2011 when I was living in Mendoza – updates below!

Fernet and Coke – The Phenomenon

Fernet Branca is an herbacious digestif made in Italy by Distillerie Fratelli Branca. However, Argentina is the only other place in the world that they make it outside of Italy.  Fernet became popular in Argentina with the Italian immigrants at the turn of the last century (as in 1900) and then spread like wildfire throughout the country.

How does Fernet Branca taste? On its own, it is disgusting. (At least I think so.) It’s bitter, it’s really hard to describe the taste, and the recipe is a secret.

Its Wikipedia entry describes it as “myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and especially saffron, with a base of grape distilled spirits, and coloured with caramel colouring. Ingredients rumored to be in fernet include codeine, mushrooms, fermented beets, coca leaf, gentian, rhubarb, wormwood, zedoary, cinchona, bay leaves, absinthe, orange peel, calumba, echinacea, quinine, ginseng, St. John’s wort, sage, and peppermint oil.” The Fernet Branca website describes it as having 27 herbs, roots and spices.

There are several different types of Fernet: Fernet Branca is the default, while Fernet Branca Menta is a mintier version. Fernet Branca is mainly what’s used to make Fernet and Coke.

Fernet is an acquired taste. The first time I tried it, I hated it. I asked my friends how they could possible drink something so terrible. They assured me that I’d come to like it, especially if I was having it as Fernet and coke. I was a nonbeliever.

Fernet and Coke – “Para Preparar”

There are a couple ways to order Fernet in a bar here in Argentina. You can either get it normally (fernet con coke), or you can get it “para preparar”, when the bar gives you 1 glass with ice and fernet, another glass with just ice, and a bottle of Coke to mix your own according to how you like it.  This is probably the best way to go and the best value – and you can make it more suave at first (mostly Coke) and then move on to higher potency combinations later in the evening.

Then one day I enjoyed it. It was after a few adult beverages, of course. But for some reason, I began to like it. And now I know I’m going to crave it when I get back to Texas. Hmph.

Since 2011… Fernet Branca is everywhere.

Update: We love the tradition of Fernet and coke so much that we named our sweet French bulldog “Branca.” When folks ask what her name is and we tell them, they inevitably ask what it means and it ends up being a little education for them about what Fernet is and some even say “OMG I’ve had that!”

Turns out, Fernet is having a “moment” back here in the U.S. after I originally wrote this post back in 2011. You can find it behind nearly every bougie cocktail bar in the States. Bartenders love the stuff for adding an amaro note to cocktails. There’s so much more to do with Fernet Branca than make Fernet and Coke.

Who’d have known?

Are you a Fernet fan? Let me know your favorite recipe in the comments below!

A very sad week

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On Wednesday night, my 27-year-old coworker passed away unexpectedly. It’s been a tough week.  I am still keeping this blog publicly anonymous, so I will not mention his name. But he was an amazing person and he will be missed immensely.

I didn’t want to have to go to a wake or funeral while I was here, and I never even contemplated it. Yesterday I went to the wake. It was tough, and it all happened so fast that I’m not sure any of us have processed what happened.  It’s not the same as at home, where there are 2 or 3 days between the passing and burial at minimum. I feel like they buried him too quickly for any of us to really understand what was going on.

But that’s life. And it has to go on.

Dieciseis & Pregnant

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Brief commentary on the family life here as it appears to a foreigner.

It’s interesting, because Mendocinos don’t really move out of their parents’ houses until they get married. This makes for PDA going on EVERYWHERE. This is mostly in the parks and plazas, but can happen in the street, on the sidewalk, etc.  I’m forced to watch people making out hardcore everywhere. Bah humbug.

Lots of these people are teenagers. I asked a friend of mine what the deal was with this, and she explained that since they all live with their parents, they pretty much just take the action outside. So that I get to watch them making out and feeling each other up while I am picking up contracts.

They also go to hourly-rate hotels called Telohs here (kind of like hotel backwards, see?), since they can’t hang out at each other’s houses if they are so inclined. While in the States, these are super seedy and gross with bad reputations, here it seems as though they’re generally accepted and normal.

There are also a ton of teen pregnancies that I’ve seen, as well as super young couples with babies. They breed young here, and they all breed. I feel like there must be pressure if you’re my age and unmarried as a girl here (or at least have been married at least once so far) because I’m pretty sure the Old Maid thing here is an actual threat.

The living at home thing also explains why Mendocinos go out late very often. I thought they were big partiers. It turns out, they will nurse a drink or two over the course of the entire night while smoking cigarettes at an outside cafe on Arístedes or similar, just to avoid going home until the wee hours of the morning when their parents are getting up and going to work.

Interesting effects from a seemingly conservative approach to family values.

What I miss from home: Part 1

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the things I really miss from home. This is partially due to having to miss one of my best friends from law school’s wedding last Saturday.  We’ll call this post the “bitching and moaning that I’m not in the U.S.” post. I do like it here, but everyone gets homesick, don’t they?

Here’s a list. While not exhaustive, it’s a good start. I’m breaking it into categories because, well, food is important and is probably most of it. Deal with it.

Food:
Mexican food – last time I had it in Mendoza, I got food poisoning.
Queso (you know, Velveeta + Rotel), although we did have it once already here. It’s still rare.
VARIETY (i.e. anything other than steak, pizza, salad, and tartas). 
Indian food
Seedless grapes
Spicy things
American-style bacon
Thai food (although I haven’t tried Wasana yet)

Culture:
Being able to order food for delivery without having a panic attack and psyching myself out of it
Not waiting in line for over 30 minutes at the supermarket 10-items-or-less lane
Actually using the little conveyor belt at the checkout, rather than moving it all manually and having the cashier give you a dirty look
Not having to walk everywhere or take a cab
Eating before 10pm and being considered normal
SPEAKING ENGLISH – I’m making a serious effort to speak only Spanish all the time with strangers, and it is seriously tiring. It is really helping my Spanish, though!
Men with good haircuts
Ethnic diversity
Laws that say you need to pick up after your dog
Giving someone a $20 bill and not being constantly asked if I have any smaller bills.
Other:
My friends and family from home
My boyfriend (sorry babe – you’re just as important as friends and family but I wanted to give you a shout-out!)
My car
Turning on the hot water and having it be hot right away, rather than 5 minutes later
Not being bitten by mosquitoes nearly daily
Not almost slipping on the sidewalk because it’s made of tile and not concrete or brick/stone
I know I’ll think of more later. But before that, I should probably post about what I love about Argentina, no?

Asado with special guests.

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So it’s been a while since my last update.

I went to a family Sunday asado a few weekends ago (April 3 to be exact) near Rivadavia I think it was. Anyway, it was south somewhere, past Lujan on the way to Tunuyán. This random guy just opens his little farm to anyone who wants to barbecue there for the weekend and take their ATVs out for a spin on these crazy dirt hills next door (assuming it’s on his property too).

We show up to the asado and my friend’s dog is barking and going nuts. I think it’s because of the other dogs around. Then… she goes “oh yeah he’s going nuts because of the llama.”

Excuse me?

That’s right. The llama. There were 2 of them  – a white one and a black one. Just hanging out, roaming around the property. Hanging out in the lemon grove. Being llamas.

Also guests of our little asado were horses, roosters, hens, geese, ducks, pigs, cows (yeah I felt bad about that one), donkeys, mules, and goats… just hanging out, roaming around, crapping everywhere. Making me feel bad for eating their tasty friends.

It was a really fun day – didn’t get to ride the ATVs although I was offered – it looked a little too hardcore for me. But the asado was great and I got to meet my friends’ family, which is always a cool experience.

Bodegas Twitter Event

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A week ago today (Saturday March 26), I was lucky enough to have a ticket to attend a huge winetasting event here in Mendoza called Bodegas Twitter.  The event was a fundraiser for Fundación CONIN, which is a charity that works with underprivileged children.

So why was it called Bodegas Twitter? The entire event was supposedly organized using solely Twitter.  And, if you tweeted from the event using the hashtag #bodegastw , your tweet would be broadcast to the entire party via a giant screen behind the stage.

Bodegas Twitter

Held at the Auditorio Angel Bustelo in downtown Mendoza, the event brought together bodegas all around the Mendoza region (and Patagonia), including some Continue reading →