Fernet Stock is a herbal

bitters A bitters (plural also ''bitters'') is traditionally an Alcoholic drink, alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a Bitterness (taste), bitter or bittersweet Flavoring, flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters ...

made in

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

, Czech Republic. It is flavoured with approximately 14 herbs, imported from the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. It is also available in a sweeter form as Fernet Stock Citrus. The original Fernet is approximately 40% alcohol (Italian version 41%), whereas the Citrus is a lower 30%.

History

Origins and the interwar period

In 1884, during the crisis caused by the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...

, Italian Lionello Stock founded the ''Camis & Stock'' company in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

. The Italian speaking city was at that time part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. The company's flagship product was

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

but the

dissolution of Austria-Hungary The dissolution of Austria-Hungary was a major political event that occurred as a result of the growth of internal social contradictions and the separation of different parts of Austria-Hungary. The more immediate reasons for the collapse of the ...

in 1918 made trade between the successor countries difficult as Trieste became part of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Therefore Stock bought a distillery in Božkov near

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1920 and founded a subsidiary called ''Stock Cognac Medicinal''. At first, spirits transported from Trieste were bottled there. Cognac or brandy were long the firm's flagship products. The plant began gradually operating independently and shipments from Trieste came to an end. In 1927, the Plzeň company ''Stock Cognac Medicinal Božkov u Plzně'' began with its production of a bitter liqueur Fernet Stock.Stock History
/ref> It was however hit by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in 1929 and then seized by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s as Jewish property in 1939.

After the Second World War

By the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the company ended up as Czechoslovak national property. Although Lionello Stock regained possession briefly in 1947, it was

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

in 1948 by the

communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

. Fernet Stock's popularity only increased through the 1960s and 1970s.

After communism

The

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

in 1989 meant the end of communist regime in Czechoslovakia and enabled the return of democracy and private ownership. In 1993, the distillery's original owner Stock Trieste became again its majority shareholder. Sales of the popular liqueurs grew by 500% in the nineties. In 1997, Stock Plzeň introduced the ''Fernet Stock Citrus'', which over the two years became the second most popular Czech alcoholic spirit, right behind Fernet Stock. In 2007, Stock Plzeň were sold to Tenebro, a company belonging to the US

Oaktree Capital Management Oaktree Capital Management, Inc. is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of September 30, 2024, the company managed $205 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a ...

group. In 2012 was the production of other Stock products moved from Trieste to Plzeň. This included also

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

Keglevich Dry or brandy Stock 84. At the same time, the Stock International company in Plzeň started to serve markets in Italy, USA, Canada, Poland and 50 other countries, according to its managing director Petr Pavlík.

Variations

* ''Fernet Stock'' – original first produced in 1927 in Božkov (now part of

), 40% ABV. * ''Fernet Stock Citrus'' – launched in 1997, with lemon taste, 30% ABV. * ''Fernet Stock S mátou'' – with

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

taste, 30% ABV. * ''Fernet Stock Hruška'' – with pear taste, 30% ABV. * ''Fernet Stock Cranberry'' – with

cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not th ...

taste, 27% ABV.

References

{{reflist

External links

Stock TriestStock Plzeň-BožkovFernet Stock Hungary
Bitters Czech brands Italian brands Czech distilled drinks Products introduced in 1927 1927 establishments in Czechoslovakia Plzeň