Sea Salt, fluffy pineapple, and repurposed red wine: inside W Sydney’s Caffè Fernet

Fernet-Branca is a brand beloved by bartenders — so much so that it is something of a bartenders’ handshake, an if-you-know-you-know drink to order. We’ve written before about the Fernet-Branca relationship with bartenders, their famous Fernet coins, and how this most bracing of bitter amari spread throughout the global bar industry.

But on Level 30 at W Sydney, accomplished beverage and bars manager Barney Toy and his team are taking Fernet-Branca one step further with a three month Branca bar takeover, called Caffè Fernet. You’ll be able to indulge with cocktails inspired by the cafe culture of long ago Italy, all made with a good measure of something a little bitter from the Branca portfolio.

Australian Branca ambassador Federico Malavenda — you may know him better ask Freddy — sat down with Barney to find out more.

FEDERICO MALAVENDA: So we’re here on the 30th floor above Sydney Harbour at W Sydney. What are we doing?

BARNEY TOY: We’re here talking about Caffè Fernet, which is here at the Level 30 bar in W Sydney. And we’ve done this activation that we’re going to run for three months, working around the nostalgic cafè culture of Italy back in the day.

FEDERICO MALAVENDA: Amazing. It’s probably a way to get Fernet out of just the bartenders’ hands and a little bit more available to the general consumer as well.

BARNEY TOY: Yeah, so one of the big things within W Hotels that I love is this playing with the high-low concept. So fried chicken and caviar, burgers and champagne, that kind of thing. I think Fernet’s always had this really, really humble background within bartenders, as the bartender’s handshake, and Fernet and beers and things like that. Whereas we wanted to play around with what Fernet is as an ingredient and how it can work into really amazing cafè-culture inspired drinks.

FEDERICO MALAVENDA: When is this going to happen?

BARNEY TOY: We're getting the word out. So we open at Tuesday to Saturday, from 5pm until 10pm. You can walk in if you’re in the area, or you can make a reservation. We've got some cool food offerings to go with it — the creme fraiche caviar is definitely one to hit.

FEDERICO MALAVENDA: Who came up with the drinks?

BARNEY TOY: The drinks have all been designed by myself, Harry Huxley and Enzo Tanner. And these drinks are all based on our favourite style of drinks. One is the Fernet Con Cola-Noir, which is based on a drink that I love, the red wine and cola. And then with Fernet-Branca in there as well? We've done that using leftover red wine from the hotel. It’s carbonated, and tastes tropical dry, fresh, it’s such a good drink.

And then you've got Enzo Tanner doing some some classic Italian bartending as he does, making some great drinks. And then Harry's come in with some the Caffè Fernet and some kind of biscoff-infused cream, which is very decadent.

FEDERICO MALAVENDA: I've tried them, you’ve done a great job on that. Do you want to tell me how you first became acquainted with Fernet?

BARNEY TOY: I've been bartending, in the industry now for 25 years. Fernet-Branca has always been around. Obviously it was initially in the bars when everyone was making Hanky Pankys, and it was one of the go-to riffs. Then it just became that thing where bartenders would drink it, and it became more about drinking Fernet & Cokes. Now people drink Fernet & Tonic, which is crazy to me because I can't handle that much bitter in my life.

FEDERICO MALAVENDA:
Also, how good it is to see bartenders also making drinks with Fernet-Branca that are not only the nightcap, spirit-forward drinks? I know you have a nice aperitivo-style, fruity and bubbly drink on the menu for this.

BARNEY TOY: We have one called The Green Hour, which is grapefruit and Branca Menta — mint and grapefruit. It obviously makes sense if you think about it. That's one of Enzo Tanner's drinks, a great aperitivo.
Then we've also done the Garibaldi, it is such a famous drink from way back in the cafe culture in Italy, and then made super famous by Naren Young [at Dante in New York] with fluffy orange juice. So we've done a fluffy pineapple juice with Fernet-Branca, which is super yum.

FEDERICO MALAVENDA: I noticed that I couldn't hear any ice shaking in drinks in here. You actually don't shake your drinks?

BARNEY TOY: So we have a one station bar up here on Level 30. We look after 30 guests at any one time. So the idea is speed. We pre-batch as much as we can. The fluffy pineapple we do is juiced every day. And then everything else is carbonated or pre-batched and stirred. We have milkshake machines so we can keep everything foamy and frothy and aerated and yum. It just means that the speed of service and consistency is awesome.

BARNEY TOY: So you've had some of the drinks we're doing — what do you think of the Fernet Con Cola-Noir?

FEDERICO MALAVENDA: I love the drink for a few different reasons. One reason is that, because Fernet & Cola is so huge in South America, especially in Argentina, it is a bit of a mission for me this year to try to get it a little bit more out to regular consumer.

With the addition of your pinot noir - it is a syrup that you are using?

BARNEY TOY: Pinot noir cordial, yeah.

FEDERICO MALAVENDA: It just takes the edge of the extra sweetness from the Coca-Cola off. You get a whole lot of the medicinal and botanical notes of Fernet and then a little bit of the sweetness of the Coke, but that pinot noir syrup makes for a nice and dry finish. I love it. And it’s served over crushed ice with a slice of?

BARNEY TOY: Slice of lime, and then sea salt on top.

FEDERICO MALAVENDA: Which is super unusual, but it works out so well.