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Toronto

After dinner/digestif · Classic/vintage · Herbal

4.2 149 ratings

Ingredients

1 3/4 oz Canadian whisky
1/4 oz Fernet liqueur
1/4 oz Maple syrup
1 dash Aromatic bitters
1/3 oz Chilled water

How to make

Serve in a coupe glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of orange zest twist and skewered Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

Method

  1. 3 STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. 4 FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

  1. 5 EXPRESS orange zest twist over cocktail and discard.
  2. 6 Garnish with skewered maraschino cherry.

Flavour profile

24.4% alc./vol. · 1.4 standard drinks · 163 calories

History

Whether sugar or maple syrup is used, both tame and amplify the whiskey flavour, but maple syrup contributes more. Fernet dominates this Manhattan-style cocktail.

This cocktail, the Toronto, was brought back into the spotlight in 2006 by Jamie Boudreau in Seattle, Washington. Its earliest known written appearance is as the "Fernet Cocktail" in Robert Vermeire's 1922 book, Cocktails - How to Mix Them. The "Fernet Cocktail" recipe provided is: "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 version is noted as being "much appreciated by the Canadians of Toronto." David A. Embury's 1948 book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, also lists the Toronto, with the following proportions: "TORONTO 1 part Sugar syrup 2 parts Fernet-Branca 6 parts Canadian Whisky 1 dash Angostura to each drink (optional)" It is suggested that this cocktail can be prepared in Old-Fashioned glasses or stirred with large ice cubes and strained into cocktail glasses, garnished with a twist of orange peel. In 2010, Marian Beke selected the Toronto for the opening menu at London's Nightjar. On the bar's 15th anniversary party, November 17th, 2025, co-founder Edmund Weil mentioned that the cocktail remained the bar's best seller. Nightjar's iteration features 50ml bourbon, 12.5ml Fernet Branca liqueur, and 7.5ml maple syrup infused with roasted coffee beans and pecan nuts, garnished with orange blossom smoke and a candy floss cloud.