Toronto Cocktail – Complex Flavor – Easy to Make

Toronto Cocktail

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Big Flavor Punch

The Toronto cocktail may be what you’re looking for if you’re looking to try something new drink. It is a simple, sophisticated, and well-balanced take on a rye Old Fashioned.

It is made with Canadian rye, Fernet Branca, angostura bitters, orange peel, and sweetened with a touch of maple syrup. It’s a delicious drink and it could be a new favorite for you.

This cocktail is perfect for anyone interested in exploring the complex world of flavor to be found in Italian Amaro. The spiciness of rye and the wild bitterness of Fernet is a natural pairing. A touch of maple syrup softens it and rounds it all out. This is a bitter, aromatic, and delicious drink.

What is the Toronto Cocktail?

If you’re not familiar with the Toronto cocktail is a unique mix of Canadian rye whisky and Fernet Branca with simple syrup and Angostura bitters. It’s bitter, it’s aromatic, it’s delicious. 

If you like a Negroni or a Boulevardier, the flavor profile is in that territory. Spicy rye and punchy Fernet are challenging ingredients, but the addition of a little maple syrup softens it up a bit.

Here are the ingredients you need to make this drink at home. We also have some helpful tips for making this classic cocktail recipe your own.

Toronto Cocktail Ingredients

Canadian Rye

Canadian whisky is a tricky category. To start with you can call it rye. no matter what grain it is made with. Even if it doesn’t contain rye. So, even if it contains corn, barley, wheat, or rye, and often a combination of those grains it is called rye. Because of tradition and history, this is now codified into Canadian law.

Best Rye for the Toronto Cocktail

Many of the most well-known Canadian whiskey brands don’t contain much rye. On the other hand, the Canadian distillers who are using rye are some of the best in the world at what they do. 

You’ll want to be selective when choosing a rye so you get plenty of the character of the grain in your whisky. Alberta Premium has a couple of great options. Lot 40 is another good one to look into for this drink.

Fernet Branca

Fernet Branca is an amaro (an Italian herbal liqueur) made with a variety of different herbs, including myrrh, rhubarb, and chamomile.  It’s very bitter, with a strong, unique flavor. Bernardino Branca founded Fernet Branca in Italy in 1845. Branca taught himself how to be an herbalist. He originally sold Fernet medicinally.

Maple Syrup

You make maple syrup by collecting sap from maple trees.  You reduce the collected sap by boiling it. The you thin it with water. The result is an aromatic syrup with an extremely sweet flavor. It is a little sweeter than simple syrup, so you will want to be a little more restrained with it than with sugar or simple syrup.

How to Make the Toronto Cocktail

This is a spirit-forward drink, and a variation on an Old Fashioned, which means it is going to be stirred, so get out your mixing glass. 

It is one of those cocktails that is served either up or in the rocks. So, the choice is yours. Put it in a chilled cocktail glass, or a rocks glass with a big chunk of ice. To garnish squeeze a wide strip of orange peel over top.

Toronto Cocktail Recipe

Looking for a cocktail recipe? Try the classic, Toronto Cocktail. This drink has few ingredients but packs a big flavor punch. It’s a complex mix of Canadian whisky and Fernet Branca drink with bitters. It's named after the city of Toronto in Canada!

• mixing glass
• chilled cocktail glass

• 2 oz Canadian rye whisky ((Alberta Premium or Lot 40 are good choices here))
• 1/4 oz Fernet Branca
• 1/4 oz maple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 strip orange peel (to garnish)

1. Fill a mixing glass with ice.

2. Add rye, Fernet Branca, maple syrup and bitters to the mixing glass.

3. Stir until well chilled and diluted.

4. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of orange peel.

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