In our expert guide, you’ll discover the fascinating history, varieties, and delicious cocktail recipes associated with vermouth.
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A Guide to Vermouth
Aug 14, 2024
A Guide to Vermouth
Vermouth is a fortified wine, infused with artfully selected botanicals, herbs and spices for a complex and vibrant flavour profile. Each type of vermouth has been curated for a specific taste, ranging from floral and herbal notes to subtle sweetness. This versatility makes vermouth a perfect ingredient for classics like the Martini cocktail or a Negroni.
In Italy, where vermouth was born and continues to thrive, it’s customary to enjoy the drink during aperitivo – a social pre-dinner ritual celebrated with drinks, light snacks, and time to unwind with friends and family. So, whether you’re sipping vermouth neat or mixing it in a refreshing cocktail, join us as we explore all things vermouth.
What is Vermouth?
Vermouth has two distinct forms; a ‘dry’ vermouth, characterised by its pale appearance and bitter notes, and a red, ‘sweet’ vermouth with a richer, sweeter flavour. The latter was invented in Turin, Italy in 1986 by Antonio Benedetto Carpano and was quickly popularised by the royal court. The drink was originally named ‘Wermut’, after the German word for ‘wormwood’, but the French pronunciation ‘vermouth’ quickly caught on and became the name we still associate with this creation today. Joseph Noilly, between 1800-1813, created the first dry vermouth in France, reducing the amount of sugar content and experimenting with botanicals to create the paler, tart vermouth we feature in our gin Martini cocktails.
Though sweet vermouths are classically considered to be red, and pale vermouths dry, this is not always the case.
During the late 18th Century, vermouth became synonymous with the aperitivo spirit of socialising, relaxing and warmth. With this rising popularity as an aperitivo, mixologists began experimenting with the drink and by the end of the 19th Century, cocktails like the Manhattan, Martini, and Negroni were created and enjoyed world-wide, and still are today.
How is Vermouth Made?
Recipes for making great vermouth have been passed down from master to master. In the case of MARTINI, the art of blending is a skill trusted to a select few to continue the legacy of the original Master Blender, Luigi Rossi. You can read more about MARTINI’s ingredients, Master Blender, Giuseppe Musso, and our Master Herbalist Alessandro Garneri, MARTINI Heritage page.
The first stage to making vermouth is to steep artfully selected botanicals in fortified wine, where the alcohol extracts the flavours and builds the overall taste profile. How long the botanicals are left to steep in the wine depends on the preference of the producer, and different maceration times will create different tasting vermouths. The second stage to making vermouth is known as infusion, which occurs during the distillation of the selected fortification spirit, also involving an array of hand-selected botanicals. Then, the base wine is fortified with the infused spirit and sugar is added to the vermouth to the Master Blender’s desired sweetness.
Vermouth is the product of a complex layering of ingredients, and every combination of roots, herbs, flowers, grapes, spices, and spirits marries to create a unique tasting drink. Every detail, from where the ingredients are sourced, to the infusion time of each botanical, can impact the final taste of the product, so every choice is deliberate to create a perfectly balanced vermouth.
Types of Vermouth
The different types of vermouths are categorised by a perceived sweetness level, which ranges from extra dry, or dry, to sweet. Below, we’ll teach you the differences between each vermouth and how best to drink them.
Dry Vermouth
Dry vermouth is the most popular component to the Martini cocktail due to its elegant appearance and classic mix of bitter and floral notes. Originating from France, this vermouth is considered ‘dry’ because of its low sugar content, containing only 4-5% sugar, or even no sugar at all. Dry vermouth is typically lower in water content and higher in alcohol content than sweet vermouths, and the omission of caramel gives it its clear or pale-yellow colouring.
Sweet Vermouth
Of Italian origin, sweet vermouth is also known as red, or rosso, vermouth. It has a higher sugar content than dry vermouth, which gives it its characteristic ‘sweet’ flavour, like with whiskey in the famous Manhattan.
Vermouth Bianco
Bianco lies between sweet and dry vermouth. With prominent vanilla notes to balance bitter botanicals, it offers a sweet kick to the characteristics of dry vermouth. Typically used in ‘perfect’ or ‘fifty-fifty’ Martini cocktail recipes, vermouth Bianco is also delicious when left to shine with tonic water in a MARTINI Bianco and Tonic.
How You Should Store Vermouth
Once opened, it’s crucial to store your vermouth in the fridge. Not to be confused with white and red wine, all vermouth, whether it’s sweet or dry, should be refrigerated.
When stored in the refrigerator, vermouth will keep well for around a month. Beyond that, the quality will decline as it oxidises. When you first open a bottle of vermouth, have a taste, and note how vibrant and complex the flavour profile is. As it ages, and especially when it goes bad, this brightness and complexity will fade. Old, or incorrectly stored, vermouth becomes flat, dull and will have a bad aroma.
Ways to Enjoy Vermouth
Vermouth can be enjoyed in various ways, depending on your mood and what you like to drink. For a simple cocktail bursting with complex flavour, enjoy your vermouth over ice as an aperitivo, or in a longer drink such as a spritz. Garnish with a wheel of lemon, orange or grapefruit to complement the base botanicals of the vermouth.
Classic cocktails like the Negroni, Manhattan, Martini cocktail and Americano, all use vermouth for their taste and complexity. Our non-alcoholic vermouths, like Floreale or Vibrante, are perfect for when you want something flavourful to drink without the alcoholic strength of a spirit.
Vermouth Cocktails
Here at MARTINI, we know vermouth better than anyone. We have a large collection of vermouth cocktails for you to try, but here’s a run-through of our absolute MARTINI favourites that are classic, easy, delicious, and bound to impress your friends and family.