Name: Quebec City (a brandy-based Toronto)
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 52.5 ml Cognac (brandy); 7.5 ml Fernet liqueur; 7.5 ml Maple syrup; 1 dash Aromatic bitters; 10 ml Chilled water

Quebec City (a brandy-based Toronto)
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Quebec City (a brandy-based Toronto) image

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 ³⁄₄ oz	Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
¹⁄₄ oz	Fernet Branca liqueur
¹⁄₄ oz	Maple syrup
1 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters
¹⁄₃ oz	Chilled water

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist (discarded) & skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Quebec City (a brandy-based Toronto) lifestyle image

Review:

Fernet-washed brandy rounded with maple syrup and deepened with a dash of aromatic bitters.

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History:

A Toronto Cocktail based on brandy rather than whiskey, as is the norm today. Brandy is used in preference to whiskey for this cocktail in Robert Vermeire's 1922 Cocktails - How to Mix Them. The name, and indeed trying brandy as the base, is thanks to a comment by Michael N. on our Toronto cocktail page in February 2022.

Fernet Cocktail
Fill the bar glass half full of broken ice and add:
1 dash of Angostura Bitters
2 dashes of plain Sugar or Gum Syrup.
¼ gill of Fernet Branca.
¼ gill of Cognac Brandy, or Rye Whisky to taste.
Stir up well with a spoon, strain into a cocktail-glass, and squeeze lemon-peel on top.
This cocktail is much appreciated by the Canadians of Toronto.
Robert Vermeire, 1922

More cocktails by Robert Vermeire

Nutrition:

One serving of Quebec City (a brandy-based Toronto) contains 163 calories

Alcohol content:

1.4 standard drinks
24.35% alc./vol. (24.35° proof)
18.9 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 7 comments for Quebec City (a brandy-based Toronto).
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Susie Bright

17th April 2024 at 00:51

At the risk of being accused of Canadian delusion, the sourcing of REAL, top of the line Ontario or Quebec “sirop d’erable” is what makes this. It’s heaven. Maple syrup is Eastern Canada’s umami. Treasure it!

Mary Stom

27th January 2024 at 22:59

No maple syrup

Elise Bruels

25th December 2023 at 21:47

Served this at a Christmas party and it was a smash hit across the board. I didn't have maple syrup on hand but instead used a homemade 2:1 Demerara syrup, and that really brought out all the cinnamon and caramel notes from the brandy, as well as highlighting the clove from the fernet. This is a special one.

Richard Christmas

22nd September 2023 at 18:53

Amazing! I am not sure that I like either F.B. or Angostura very much, but together they are magical, and go so well with the cognac. An instant favourite. Is it heretical to serve it in a Nick & Nora?

Simon Difford

26th September 2023 at 10:20

It could nestle nicely in a Nick & Nora.

1 reply

Mitchell Braun

9th February 2023 at 03:17

Real good! Fernet works better with cognac than with whisky IMO. Next time I’m going to try upping the cognac to 2oz and cutting the maple in half to dry it out a bit.

Richard Christmas

23rd September 2023 at 19:10

I had had a similar thought, and it does work very well, but it is less comforting on a dark autumn evening, and seems a trifle less self-indulgent.

G. M. Genovese

23rd June 2022 at 10:58

Wow, excellent drink! Even with what I consider to be a sub-par Cognac - Godet VS - this is a well-conceived recipe. Each supporting ingredient is subtly yet clearly expressed. (23 Jun 2022, 6:58a)