The market · Wine, vermouth and sherry · Southern Europe

Sweet vermouth

Red, sweet, aromatic vermouth in the Turin style — wine sweetened and bittered with wormwood and spice. Half of a Manhattan, a third of a Negroni.

bittersweet · vanilla · dried fruit

What to do with it

Classics built on it
The cocktail barNegroniGin, Campari and sweet vermouth in equal parts, stirred: bitter, sweet and strong at once.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Vermouth di Torino
Rich and spiced, with vanilla and cocoa — the cocktail standard.
Everyday rosso
Lighter and sweeter, simpler.
Extra bitter
Pushed further towards the amaro end — a Negroni in a bottle.
Spanish vermut rojo
Rich, often orangey — drunk on ice with an olive and an orange slice.

Goes with

camparirye whiskeylondon dry ginorange

Knowing it

Where to buy
Half bottles where you can. Vanilla-heavy ones dominate a drink; a balanced Torino one is the all-rounder.
A little history
Commercial vermouth is usually traced to Turin in the late 1700s.
Worth knowing
Fridge once opened, and use within a month or two. Changing the vermouth is the easiest way to change a Negroni or Manhattan — taste two side by side.

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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