In Argentina, one of the most popular mixed drinks (the most popular, probably) is Fernet and Coca-Cola. Known by the slang name “Fernando”, it was first drunk by the lower social groups in the 1990s but quickly spread to all people from all walks of life. Make one yourself if you like; one part Fernet (Branca is by far the best brand) to six or eight parts Coke (personal taste) in a long glass with ice.
So when a truck carting thousands of bottles of Fernet Branca tried to cross a level crossing at the wrong time and got hit by a passenger train yesterday, locals had the choice of helping the seriously injured driver and seven injured people on the derailed train, or helping themselves to the bottles lying strewn across the tracks.
No contest; in minutes the bottles had been spirited away by locals in the Paternal barrio of Buenos Aires. No word on the driver since he was taken to hospital, but you can bet on there being one helluva party this weekend in houses and flats around the crash site.
Empty boxes all around