To celebrate its third year in business, global creative agency Tavern partnered with its Brooklyn neighbors, Faccia Brutto, to create a one-of-a-kind liquor: a 30-month barrel-aged Fernet Pianta. Fewer than 450 bottles exist. The collaboration brings together two Brooklyn brands and one shared heritage to create something that honors the ritual of Italian drinking traditions.
A collaboration born from Brooklyn craft and friendship
Faccia Brutto has been a long-time collaborator of Tavern. Tavern helped to build the Faccia Brutto brand on the ground – from bar activations to local hype. Its Fernet Pianta is widely considered one of the best Fernets on the market, beloved by bartenders and obsessives alike.
Taking its signature Fernet Pianta, Faccia Brutto placed it in white oak barrels and aged it for 30 months exclusively for Tavern. This is Faccia Brutto’s first-ever aged Fernet, made specifically for this collaboration and never to be reproduced.
The Liquid
Overall, the liquid carries a little less bite than the core Faccia Brutto Fernet. The bitterness steps back, allowing the age and white oak to unfurl toward the finish – slow and confident. Tasting notes include chocolate, peppermint, and “Nonna candy”.
Modern heritage in its purest form
Inspired by a century’s worth of Fernet and amaro labels from Tavern’s Italian amaro archive, the design reflects the early-20th-century aesthetic that once defined these spirits – a restrained Art Deco sensibility, geometric and bold typographic forms that signaled both medicinal use and futurism. Tavern revived these early design codes, then reinterpreted them through the lens of modern heritage, creating a label that feels unmistakably contemporary while still carrying the weight of a hundred years of craft.
Key design elements include a towering, red Tavern wordmark that commands the center of the label, inspired by the proud vertical typography of old-world amari. The mark is visual nod to the social-club signage and hand-painted storefront lettering that defined Italian American neighborhoods. It sits proudly alongside the Faccia Brutto mark, preserved and rebalanced to create a tri-layered hierarchy.
The red Tavern Horse wax seal, stamped with the Tavern horse crest, serves as a mark of provenance and exclusivity. An aging callout – patterned in period typography – references the barrel-aging method and celebrates the rarity of the 30-month process through a slightly ghosted pattern.
The typography is drawn directly from vintage labels and ephemera. The early-century Art Deco style is uniquely Italian in the world of amari, yet it echoes the architecture and typography that defined New York City in the same era. The Tavern typeface was redrawn using both traditions as primary reference points, deliberately blurring the lines between them to create something unmistakably Italian American in its expression.
The green, gold, and red color palette maintains a visual connection to the Faccia Brutto Fernet Pianta but is subtly adjusted so that it visually cues the level of aging the liquid has undergone.
Lovingly made, quietly shared
This exclusive collaboration embodies Brooklyn hospitality at its purest expression – something lovingly made, quietly shared, and poured for friends, collaborators, and those who have played a part in their shared story.
