A Yogi Walks Into A Bar

Shiva is the God of Destruction

The real San Francisco Treat

All things must end to make room for new beginnings. That has been my mantra for the past month
or so as the place I call my yoga home, where I've practiced and taught for the past 11 years, has closed it doors for good. Yes, I'm a yoga teacher with a cocktail habit...it's all about moderation folks! And as the late, great Julia Child once said, even moderation in moderation.
So, with the studio closing looming over my mood lately, and autumn recently upon us, the notions of change, transitions, endings, and new beginnings has crept into my psyche.
How would these sentiments manifest into a drink recipe? Well, let's break it down. A drink for a yogi in a time of tumult and transition would need to be restorative and healing, comforting and fortifying. Huh, that should be easy.

Elixir of Health or Snake Oil?

Many liquors have medicinal origin stories, with their proprietary combination of herbs, mixed in a top secret room by an abbot, (hope he doesn't get run over by an ox cart,) and promising to cure everything from Cholera, (looking at you, Fernet,) to more modestly digestive problems.
Speaking of Fernet, let's start there. Fernet Branca is not for the faint of heart with its strong herbal and spicy flavor profile. People compare it to Listerine, or black licorice; I'm really selling it right now, aren't I? Try a little sip and it can literally clear your sinuses. Some swear that it is a hang-over cure, (I've yet to verify that claim.) But trust me, this herbal beast from Italy developed in 1845 and whose recipe boasts 27 herbs from around the world, can play well with other strong-willed liquors. Sorry, vodka, this one ain't for you. If  you're not drinking it as a shot, or mixed with cola a la Argentine-style, look for liquors that can stand up to the strong flavor, perhaps another amaro (something sweet), or a juniper-forward gin, or even something more bitter than Fernet, like Campari or Aperol.

Strong-Willed

If there is one thing yoga has taught me, it's how to dig down deep and tap into my inner-strength to

Sure it's easy to meditate on this rock off the coast of Turkey.
But can you meditate in a busy gym, in the city, next to a
construction site? That'll take some fortitude of the mind.

continue on in the face of adversity or great obstacles. Fernet did not defeat me. Now to find a liquor as equally strong-willed and restorative so that it may stand up for itself against the Fernet.
A lovely and complex cocktail comes to mind here, the San Francisco Treat. To balance out the bitter, minty, and unsweet Fernet, it calls for Averna amaro, in equal propotions no less, as well as Dolin Blanc, a sweet, white vermouth to round it out.
Averna, an herbally-rooty-citrusy amaro was created in Sicily in the 1860's and was developed from a recipe by Benedictine monks that was gifted to Salvatore Averna. Again, it was thought of as a tonic or theraputic elixir back then. The Dolin Blanc, (which i'm subbing with Carpano Bianco here) finishes it out with a bit more sweet and some citrus as well.

San Francisco Treat

1 oz. Fernet-Branca
1 oz. Averna Amaro
1 oz. Blanc Vermouth
2 dash orange bitters
Orange rind garnish

Combine all ingredients, and stir over ice and strain into tumbler with one large ice cube. Express an orange peel and garnish. The orange bitters was my addition, because we just love our bitters here.

This drink accomplished many things for me; restoring my spirits, I was in a much better mood after drinking it than before; comforting my soul, must be feeling the blessing of the Benedictine monks; and, fortifying my constitution, if I can down this concoction I can take whatever life throws at me next-- all at a time when I really needed it.

By Julz Vivalo