Vermouth as an Aperitif or Cocktail Ingredient

Vermouth is an aged, aromatic, fortified European wine flavored with botanicals, such as citrus peel, star anise, basil, thyme, and wormwood, to name a few.

According to ancient Greek folklore, very early versions of the beverage were actually used for their ingredients’ medicinal properties by the “father of medicine,” Hippocrates. He prescribed it for a range of ailments, including rheumatism, dyspepsia, and anemia.

Historical documents show that vermouth as we currently know it originated in Torino, Northern Italy, the capital of Piemonte in the very late 16th century. Antonio Benedetto Carpano introduced a very popular red sweet vermouth in 1786. In the early 1800s, the very first pale, dry vermouth was produced in France by Joseph Noilly.

Traditionally, vermouth as a beverage was enjoyed da solo – on its own over ice, and that’s how it was when I first encountered it. Nowadays, it’s a key ingredient in several of today’s better known cocktails, including the famed martini, the Manhattan, the Americano, and the Negroni.

The irreverent troubadour, Tom Lehrer, at the final refrain of his “Bright College Days” gives us his recipe for a classic, extra dry martini:

“Hearts full of youth
Hearts full of truth,
Six parts gin to one part vermouth!”

In my cellar, I have numerous vermouth bottles from Spain, Italy, France, and a few other areas. My oldest sample is from Bodegas Olivero in Spain. Since I couldn’t get it in the U.S. until recently, I treasured it one thimbleful at a time. I finished the bottle not long ago, and I’m looking for a replacement in wine stores in my area. I also have some Italian bottles that I think are exceptional.

9 di DANTE Purgatorio – extra dry Vermouth di Torino – is a white vermouth, as indicated on the label. It’s produced in Alba at the premises of the Montanaro Distillery, and it’s the first vermouth to be created from 100% Arneis DOC wine.

A floral and fruity mouthfeel offers a full body of pear and apricot notes, complemented by lemon peel, sage, and a touch of mint. I consider it a perfect libation over ice, but it could also be very good in a vodka Martini – stirred, not shaken.

My garnet-hued 9 di DANTE Purgatorio is blended from equal parts of must from two Piemontese grapes – Dolcetto, a red and Cortese, a white. This one has a very fruity nose with hints of red berries, vanilla, raspberries, and orange, and a citrusy mouthfeel. I love it on ice on a hot summer evening or even as a decadent “sauce” over cherry-vanilla ice cream.

Another Italian vermouth is from Martini e Rossi, a classic vermouth producer. I have a sweet bottle, but it’s also produced as a drier white. Actually, the Martini e Rossi red is the very first vermouth I tasted when I was still living in Athens. It was a summer libation that my friends and I used to drink over ice while sitting outdoors at our regular patisserie after work.

Otto’s Athens Vermouth, a very recent product, is an interesting, high quality, new Greek vermouth. It’s infused with rose petals, wormwood, citrus rind, olive leaves, oregano, and angelica – a nose and palate very different from most other vermouths I have tasted. It’s well balanced with a slightly bitter finish.

It’s named in honor of the first modern king of Greece, Otto Friedrich Ludwig von Wittelsbach, the son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. Otto was invited to the Greek throne after the Greek kingdom was reestablished in 1832, following the country’s war of independence from the Ottoman Empire. He was a philhellene (a lover of Greece and Greek culture).

Eventually, he and his wife, Amalia, were exiled back to Austria, and he finished his days at a palace in Vienna.

Do you have a favorite vermouth?