*Feel like listening instead of reading?*👇

Vermouth.mp3

How to make a decision right now

• Are you making vodka or gin martini? You want dry vermouth.
• Are you making a manhattan or negroni? You want sweet vermouth.

The next bridge: How much are you spending on your spirit?

• I often find that home bartenders allocate most of their cocktail budget for spirits and not enough for mixers. A cocktail, like a dish, is only as good as its worst ingredient. A bit like buying a great steak and pairing it with $0.99 steak sauce. 🥩

Vermouth’s secret

75% of what is in a vermouth bottle is wine. 😲 Therefore, it needs to be refrigerated once open to slow oxidation. This helps it last 2-4 months. If you didn’t know this, don’t worry. Almost no one does and it is something that needs to be better highlighted. As a result, most bottles in homes and establishments are skunked. Also, the cheaper bottle, the lower quality the wine and other ingredients.

Two dominant styles

• Dry: Light-bodied, often with notes like baking spice, citrus, and floral botanicals. Used in martinis and gibsons.
• Sweet/Rojo/Rouge: Rich, deep, fruity, herbaceous, or spiced. The pick for manhattans, negronis, and boulevardiers.
  • Fun fact: most sweet vermouth get their color from caramelized sugar or caramel. Not red wine.

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Worth knowing: Within each style of vermouth, flavor can vary notably across brands. Next time you’re at a solid cocktail bar, ask to sample theirs.

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Coming soon to theaters: “James Bond and The Unpardonable Sin”

Despite the countless times he’s saved the world, James Bond really did a disservice to the martini. He sounds so suave saying “Shaken, not stirred”, but if you ask most mixologists, they’ll tell you its “Stirred, not shaken”. Stirring a martini gives it a ****richer, silkier quality.

🎥 Don’t know how to stir? Watch this short video.

stirring video.mov

If you only remember one thing

Much of the vermouth in bars and homes is not only cheap, but thoroughly skunked. If you’re ready to rediscover what has made vermouth a cocktail staple for 250 years, leave that skunked martini memory behind and try one with a great fresh vermouth.