Frozen Fernet Daiquiri Recipe

By
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman is a longtime food and drink expert whose recipes and cocktail-making tips can be found on her newsletters What to Drink and The Dinner Plan. She is the author of  The One-Bottle Cocktail and Batch Cocktails, both published by Ten Speed Press.
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Updated March 25, 2025
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Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Freezing the ingredients first means you can use less ice, leading to a more flavorful, less diluted drink.
  • Turbinado sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw, provides a richer, more flavorful base for the simple drink.
  • A quick taste before serving allows you to adjust for the sweetness level of the rum you use.

Fernet blasts through a simple tart frozen daiquiri, adding a slightly bitter edge and a shock of minty freshness. It's a great introduction to the bitter digestivo. In this recipe, adapted from Chicago bartender Daniel Kmieciak, you'll batch the spirits, citrus, and sugar in the freezer to make sure the mix is super-chilled before blending. You may want to adjust the lime and simple syrup quantities slightly to taste, depending on the sweetness of your rum.

Recipe Details

Frozen Fernet Daiquiri Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Active 5 mins
Freezing Time 8 hrs
Total 8 hrs 5 mins
Serves 1 serving
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces aged rum (45 ml)

  • 1/2 ounce Fernet Branca (15 ml)

  • 3/4 to 1 ounce (20-30 ml) fresh juice from 1 whole lime

  • 3/4 to 1 ounce (20-30 ml) 1:1 turbinado simple syrup (see note)

Directions

  1. At least 8 hours before you plan to serve the drink, add rum, fernet, 3/4 ounce lime juice, and 3/4 ounce turbinado simple syrup to a resealable container or zipper-lock bag. Place batched mix in the freezer until freezer-cold, about 8 hours.

  2. When ready to serve, pour mix into blender and add 8 ice cubes or 160 grams crushed ice. Pulse blender 5 times, then blend until uniform. Taste and add up to 1/4 ounce additional lime juice or turbinado simple syrup as needed. Blend once more briefly and serve immediately, with a straw if desired.

  3. If you want to make multiple drinks, you can pre-batch up to a double recipe (a blender may not hold much more than that easily) in a single container, add 14 ice cubes, then divide after blending; if making more than two drinks, use separate containers to hold more servings.

Special equipment

Blender

Notes

To make turbinado simple syrup, combine equal volumes of turbinado sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw, and hot water in a tight-fitting resealable container such as a mason jar. Shake vigorously until sugar is completely dissolved; extra simple syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
174Calories
0gFat
16gCarbs
0gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories174
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 1mg0%
Total Carbohydrate 16g6%
Dietary Fiber 0g0%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 9mg43%
Calcium 4mg0%
Iron 0mg0%
Potassium 35mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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