Toronto Cocktail

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (95 ratings)

Serve in a

Coupe glass

Garnish:

Orange zest twist (discarded) & Luxardo Maraschino Cherry

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.

1 3/4 fl oz Canadian blended whisky
1/4 fl oz Fernet Branca liqueur
1/4 fl oz Maple syrup
1 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
1/3 fl oz Chilled water (omit if using wet ice)
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Read about cocktail measures and measuring.

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David Embury's birthday

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Irish Coffee arrived in America this day

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Review:

Originally with a dash of sugar syrup but, thanks to a comment by Yacha Han on Difford's Guide, presented here with maple syrup as a more appropriate sweetener. Whether you use sugar or maple syrup, both tame and amplify the flavour of the whiskey, but maple syrup contributes so much more. However, it's Fernet that dominates this Manhattan-style cocktail.

Variant:

Served on-the-rocks in an old-fashioned glass.

History:

A previously forgotten classic resurrected in 2006 by Jamie Boudreau, Seattle, USA. The Toronto appears in David A. Embury's 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks but its earliest written incarnation is as the "Fernet Cocktail" in Robert Vermeire's 1922 Cocktails - How to Mix Them.

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

TORONTO
1 part Sugar syrup
2 parts Fernet-Branca
6 parts Canadian Whisky
1 dash Angostura to each drink (optional)
This cocktail may be made in Old-Fashioned glasses or may be stirred with large cubes of ice and strained into cocktail glasses. In either case, decorate with a twist of orange peel.

David Embury, 1948

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 24.35% alc./vol. (48.7° proof)
  • 18.9 grams of pure alcohol
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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David Embury's birthday image

David Embury's birthday

The author of that seminal work, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David Augustus Embury was born on this day in 1886 in Pine Woods, upstate New York. He

Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night Cocktails image

Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night Cocktails

Remember, remember the fifth of November Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason, why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.

National Nacho Day image

National Nacho Day

Not a fan of nachos? Then today is nacho lucky day! Yes, today is National Nacho Day, a day dedicated to those delicious fried tortilla chips that we love

National Harvey Wallbanger Day image

National Harvey Wallbanger Day

Of all the cocktails to have its very own day, the Harvey Wallbanger is probably the most surprising. But, yes, Harvey Wallbanger Day is a thing in American.

Irish Coffee arrived in America this day image

Irish Coffee arrived in America this day

The splendidly named Stanton Delaplane, a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, may have won a Pulitzer Prize for Reporting, but his legacy remains

Happy Hour Day image

Happy Hour Day

Every hour should be happy but in most bars, this term does not reflect a collective state of joyousness but a period of comparatively cheap booze. Not

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