The unsung hero of many classic cocktails, vermouth is an aromatised fortified wine. It can be traced back to ancient Chinese, Indian and Greek civilisations, which commonly infused botanicals in their wines – often for medicinal purposes.
Wormwood was a popular ingredient in these infusions; an intensely bitter plant that was thought to cure stomach ailments. It was the German word for wormwood – wermut – that gave its name to vermouth.
Through the years vermouth transformed from a medicinal tonic into an enjoyable libation. Italy’s Piedmont and France’s Savoie regions became the heart of production, thanks to their Alpine terrain, rich in wormwood and other botanicals.
Vermouth was invented in 1786 at the Marendazzo patisserie in Piazza Castello, on the corner of Via Viotti (in Turin), by Antonio Benedetto Carpano.
However, it wasn’t until the 18th century that the modern version of the drink appeared, in the Italian city of Turin. It soon became popular as a fashionable apéritif across Europe. After the first world war, Torinese families produced vermouth by using Piedmontese wines and aromatizing them with herbs grown in the vegetable garden
Vermouth’s star rose even higher in the late 19th century when bartenders began to use it as a key ingredient in the popular new mixed drinks of the day: cocktails. Over time vermouth became a key ingredient in classics such as the Negroni, Manhattan, Americano and Martini.
How is Vermouth Made?
Vermouth is made from a base of neutral, low-alcohol wine or unfermented grape must, using varieties such as Piquepoul, Clairette Blanche, Trebbiano and Catarratto. Producers fortify this base with a neutral spirit and flavour it with various botanicals.
A botanical is any plant-based substance, including herbs, spices, flowers, roots, bark and leaves. The list of vermouth botanicals will be familiar to gin lovers; including juniper, citrus peel, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, chamomile and ginger. Despite the origins of its name vermouth doesn’t have to include wormwood.
The particular mix of botanicals creates each vermouth’s signature taste and aroma. So producers keep their recipe a closely guarded secret. After the wine is fortified and infused with botanicals, the vermouth can be sweetened with sugar.
Vermouth can be red or white; sweet or dry. The three main styles, however, are sweet (which is red), dry (which is white), and bianco/blanc (sweet white). Sweet lives up to its name. You can really taste the sugar, and some bottles might be too sweet for you depending on your tastes. Dry has less sugar, but can still carry some sweetness. Bianco/blanc has the white colour of dry vermouth, but with more sweetness. In addition, there’s a growing roster of styles beyond these three.
Antica Torino
Antica Torino is the brainchild and longtime passion project of Liguria-based wine & spirits huntsman, Vittorio Zoppi, and Umbrian winemaker Filippo Antonelli. Vito’s love for Italian spirits began as it does for many in Italy—as a child surrounded by the time-honoured traditions and legacies of regional drinking culture. By sampling and studying a wide variety of vermouth and digestifs from around the world, Antica Torino has endeavoured to create refined recipes inspired by the traditions of Torino and enlivened by the Piedmontese spirit.
What differentiates Antica Torino’s Vermouths from the rest is their careful selection of ingredients that gives their fortified wines its unique distinction in colour, scent and palate. There are thirteen botanicals in Antica Torino Vermouth Rosso alone – completely natural, without bulking agents, industrial colourants or natural flavourings. The herbs are cut by hand to enable the perfect extraction of their unique organoleptic and medicinal characteristics. Till today, their recipe remains a secret and guarded by the owners. Though such is their brilliance, we absolutely guarantee that their Vermouths are one of the few we’ve come across that can be drunk straight!
Antica Torino Vermouth di Torino Dry
Torino Dry Vermouth was inspired by a rediscovered 1950’s recipe entitled “extract for dry vermouth.” Among the botanicals are wormwood, yarrow muscat, centaurea, hyssop, thistle, cinnamon, coriander, and sage, expertly balancing both mountain and garden herbs. Maceration of each ingredient occurs separately and once joined, the mixture is partially distilled and rested in steel vats. The base for Antica Torino Dry is Cortese DOC wine from Piedmont that renders a particularly elegant, floral, and vinous vermouth.
Antica Torino Vermouth di Torino Bianco
Primary botanicals in the Vermouth Rosso include absinthe, marjoram, yarrow, sage, thistle, thyme, coriander, Florentine iris and liquorice. Elegantly aromatic on a floral nose with a slight spice hint. Dry on the palate with an explosion of flowery and herbal notes that gradually shows notes of spices on the finish.
Antica Torino Vermouth di Torino Rosso
Primary botanicals in the Vermouth Rosso include wormwood, rhubarb, gentian, vanilla bean, rosemary, thyme, oregano, laurel leaves, & ginger. These botanicals are infused into a base wine composed of Piedmontese varieties Bombino, Trebbiano, Freisa and a small percentage of Moscato, and then fortified with neutral wheat spirit. The botanicals are steeped individually in the neutral grain spirit for 30–45 days, blended with wine and beet sugar, and rested in stainless steel tanks for 45–60 days before filtering and bottling. A rich, intense vermouth that shows distinct notes of ginger, laurel, vanilla and rhubarb. Great for classic cocktails such as the Negroni and Manhattan.