Timeless Elegance: A Journey Through Classic Vermouth Cocktail Creations

VERMOUTH COCKTAILS

After a period of bartender and consumer indifference, vermouth is now achingly trendy again. “Me pones un vermut,” or “give me a glass of vermouth” is a phrase you’ll hear constantly in Spain. Indeed, nothing is more in vogue than sipping vermouth in tapas bars across the Iberian peninsula. At the same time, the Italians have long favored a glass of aromatized, fortified wine flavored with botanicals during their sacred aperitivo hour after work. Both nations are proud of their versions – don’t ask for a Spanish brand in an Italian local watering hole, and vice versa – although the Italians can claim to be the godfathers of the modern vermouth-style cocktails.

Historically, vermouth was used for medicinal purposes – the word originates in the French pronunciation of the German word “Wermut,” meaning wormwood, which has been a key ingredient in the drink since immemorial. The practice of making fortified wines containing wormwood spread to France and Italy, and by the mid-1600s, the drink was consumed in England as a mix of fortified wine, herbs, roots, and spices called vermouth. However, its official birth occurred in the late 18th century in northern Italy, where Merchant Antonio Benedetto Carpano is said to have introduced sweet vermouth to the citizens of Turin. The drink became massively popular within the Turin royal court, and soon, French companies were producing sweet and dry versions.

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But while vermouth is delicious as a standalone drink, it works even better as a key ingredient to killer cocktails. Indeed, the bartending world would be all the poorer without vermouth. It is essential to a Dry Martini, Manhattan, and countless other classic cocktails. Vermouth just adds so much to the final product: intense flavor, texture, and color. Moreover, the resurgence of interest in time-honored recipes and iconic drinks such as The Martini has seen vermouth return to where it belongs – at the top of the mixer tree. The following is a list of classic cocktails that use this versatile and sophisticated mixer, with a few contemporary examples for good measure.

CLASSIC VERMOUTH COCKTAILS

Dry Martini

Ingredients: 75ml gin, 15ml dry vermouth, 1 dash orange bitters

Method: Add all the ingredients into a mixing glass with some ice cubes. Stir until chilled. Then, strain into a pre-chilled martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

The Manhattan

Ingredients: 4 drops Angostura Bitters, 50ml bourbon, 25ml red vermouth, 2 teaspoons cherry juice.

Method: Pour the ingredients into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake well—strain into glass.

The Negroni

Ingredients: 35ml gin, 28ml Campari, 21ml red vermouth

Method: Add all the ingredients into a glass with some ice cubes. Stir until chilled. Serve garnished with an orange twist.

The Adonis

Ingredients: 55ml fino sherry, 55ml red vermouth, 2 dashes of orange bitters

Method: Add all the ingredients into a mixing glass with some ice cubes. Stir until chilled. Then, strain the liquid into a chilled coupe glass. Serve with an orange twist.

The Bronx Cocktail

Ingredients: 55ml gin, 15ml dry vermouth, 15ml red vermouth, 30ml freshly squeezed orange juice

Method: Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with some ice cubes. Shake until chilled. Then, strain it into a chilled coupe glass. Serve with an orange twist.

The Americano

Ingredients: 45ml red vermouth, 45ml Campari, soda water

Method: Mix the vermouth and Campari before pouring into a tall glass filled with ice. Top up with soda water. Garnish with an orange slice.

CONTEMPORARY VERMOUTH COCKTAILS

The Pure Bard

Ingredients: 25ml blended whiskey, 25ml red vermouth, 25ml Boudier Guignolet, 25ml blood orange juice

Method: Shake the ingredients together, then fill a tumbler with cubed ice and pour everything in. Garnish with a twist of orange peel.

The Topsy Turvy – from Donna Cocktail Bar, New York

Ingredients: 60ml Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, 30ml rye whiskey, 1 teaspoon of coffee liqueur, 1 dash of Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters

Method: Add all the ingredients and some ice cubes into a mixing glass. Stir until well-chilled—strain into a pre-chilled Nick & Nora glass. Serve with an orange twist.

Diamond District – from Amor y Amargo cocktail bar, New York

Ingredients: 60ml Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, 30ml rye whiskey, 2 dashes of lime bitters.

Method: Add all the ingredients and some ice cubes into a mixing glass. Stir until well-chilled—strain into a pre-chilled coupe glass. Serve with a lemon twist.

Downhill Daring – Truxton Inn, Washington DC

Ingredients: 45ml Punt e Mes (Italian vermouth), 15ml Cocchi Americano Aperitivo, 7.5ml Benedictine, 30ml bourbon, two dashes of Angostura Bitters, 2 dashes orange bitters

Method: Add all the ingredients and some ice cubes into a mixing glass. Stir until well-chilled. Strain into a pre-chilled coupe glass. Squeeze some oil from the peel of an orange and rest it on the rim.