The market · Wine, vermouth and sherry · France and the north-west, Southern Europe

Dry vermouth

White wine fortified and flavoured with botanicals — wormwood by tradition, and in Europe by law — pale and dry. The other half of a martini, and a better cooking wine than most whites.

herbal · dry · floral

What to do with it

Classics built on it
The cocktail barMartiniGin and dry vermouth, stirred until very cold: the drink where dilution and temperature are most of the recipe.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

French dry
Some aged outdoors in casks — nutty, saline, oxidised.
Chambéry dry
Light, alpine and delicate.
Italian extra dry
Lighter and more neutral.

Goes with

london dry ginolivelemon peelorange bitter

Knowing it

Where to buy
Half bottles unless you go through it quickly — it's wine.
Worth knowing
Vermouth goes off once opened: cap it, keep it in the fridge, and use it within a month or so. Stale vermouth tastes flat and sour, and it's the commonest reason a home martini disappoints.

Kitchens that keep it in

New York, Mexico City, London, BarcelonaThe cocktail barSpirit, acid and sugar balanced to the gram — and lately a lab's worth of technique: clarifying, fat-washing, infusing, carbonating, until a drink can taste of a whole dish.9 classics · 4 cooked here

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