Sunday Cocktail Corner is a series dedicated to finding just the right libation for the situation.
For the average news consumer on the street, this week’s increase in tensions and reciprocal tariffs in our now raging, Donald Trump-fomented trade war with Canada probably registered as yet another distant piece of scary news to throw on the ‘ole anxiety heap for later processing. However, to the enlightened American drinkers and cocktail hounds perched on their barstool thrones, the stakes got a whole lot more personal, very quickly: Trump is unilaterally banning the import of Canadian booze. In an executive order that will supposedly go into effect on Sept. 29, Trump laid out the wide-ranging effects of that outright ban that will replace the punishing tariffs already in place, saying that it was targeting a Canadian industry that had been “discriminating” against U.S. products because people in Canada no longer want to buy beer or whiskey from a country that now regularly jokes about annexing them. Who would have thought?
Economically, this will be a massive deal if it comes to pass, particularly for big brands like Canada’s Crown Royal, which regularly ranks as the #2 or #3 overall whiskey in the U.S. market in any given year. You can dive more into Trump’s suicidal tariff brinkmanship in my initial piece about the Canadian booze ban, but suffice to say, the alcohol industries in both countries are desperately hoping this is all going to get worked out soon somehow, despite the fact that neither side is coming to the bargaining table.
In the meantime, you already surely know the recourse we will recommend: Drinking something appropriate to the situation. Which got me thinking about the lesser known, but classically Canadian cocktail known as the Toronto.
You could easily see this as a Manhattan variant, or argue that it is instead actually more of an old fashioned variant–it depends on how you perceive/characterize the effect and presence of the minty, herbaceous Fernet Branca used in the recipe. If you see the Fernet as a substitute for sweet vermouth, it has something akin to the outline of a Manhattan. But if you see the Fernet as just part of the sweetener/bitter element alongside simple syrup and Angostura bitters, the ratios are somewhat more like an old fashioned. Ultimately, I’d say that although the recipe is more old fashioned-like, the vibe feels more like a Manhattan thanks to the way the Toronto tends to be served up, in a stemmed coupe or Nick & Nora glass with a garnish, rather than over ice. Regardless, this is a drink that has been around since the 1920s, and has been associated with Toronto specifically since at least 1948, in David Embury’s classic cocktail manual The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.
Toronto cocktail recipe
— 2 oz rye whiskey (ideally Canadian rye)
— .25 oz Fernet Branca
— .25 oz simple syrup
— 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker/mixing tin, with ice. Stir gently to dilute and chill, and then strain into a cocktail coupe glass or Nick & Nora glass. If handy, express a strip of lemon or orange peel over the glass. Garnish with the twist of citrus, if desired.
As for the Canadian whiskey/whisky, you may want to try to lay hands on some of it before it potentially leaves the market at the end of September. Classic options for Canadian rye whiskey include Alberta Premium, Forty Creek, Canadian Club 100% Rye, Lot 40, Pendleton or J.P. Wiser’s brands.
As is so often the case with a cocktail recipe that looks simple upon its surface, there are really enjoyable layers of complexity that are actually present here. The rye whiskey in a Toronto cocktail takes center stage with initial layers of char, rye spice and gentle sweetness, while the Fernet Branca is a powerful modifier, imbuing notable impressions of mint, dark chocolate and herbal bitterness despite being used in such a small relative quantity. Certainly, its character here is waaaaay more subtle than something like the Argentinean staple Fernet & Coke I covered a while back during the World Cup, being nowhere near so overpowering in its embrace of the mintiness. Making this Toronto cocktail for the first time in quite a while, I also found myself appreciating how well both the rye and Fernet were playing with the cinnamon/allspice warmth of a few healthy dashes of Angostura. This might even be a better cocktail than I remembered!
Thankfully, it’s also one you’ll still be able to continue making easily enough with plentiful American rye whiskey, if the Canadian stuff does indeed soon vanish from our shelves. That said, the nation’s happy hour revelers will not forget, and they will not forgive.
Shift drink: Toronto
2oz canadian whisky
.25oz fernet
.25oz simple
2 dash orange bitters
2 dash ango bitters— Hemry, Local Bartender (@bartenderhemry.bsky.social) 10:13 PM · Feb 20, 2025
