Consumption of wines fortified with herbs or roots is believed to have begun in China at least as early as the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties (1250-1000 BC). The extra ingredients were added to wine to make it a medicinal drink. Wormwood wine also played a key role in India around 1500BC. Recipes for infusing white wine date back to ancient Greece from around 400 BC. A popular ingredient was wormwood, based on the belief that it was effective at treating stomach disorders and intestinal parasites. D'Alessio's version of the libation contained other botanical ingredients in addition to wormwood. Competing brands developed shortly thereafter in eastern and southeastern France, containing their own proprietary mix of ingredients, including herbs, roots, bark and spices.
The name "vermouth" is the French pronunciation of the German word Wermut for wormwood that has been used as an ingredient in the drink over its history. Fortified wines containing wormwood as a principal ingredient existed in Germany around the 16th century. At about this time an Italian merchant named D'Alessio began producing a similar product in Piedmont as a "wormwood wine". By the mid-17th century, the drink was being consumed in England under the name "vermouth" which has been the common name for the beverage until the present day.
Over time, two distinct versions of vermouth became established, one pale, dry, and bitter, and the other red and sweeter. Merchant Antonio Benedetto Carpano introduced the first sweet vermouth in 1786 in Turin, Italy. The drink reportedly quickly became popular with the royal court of Turin. Around 1800 to 1813, the first pale, dry vermouth was produced in France by Joseph Noilly. However, not all pale vermouths produced over time have been dry, and not all red vermouths have been sweet.
The use of vermouth as a medicinal liquor waned by the end of the 18th century, but its use as an aperitif increased in Italy and France. The advent of the cocktail, in the late 19th century, found a new use for vermouth. Bartenders found that it was an ideal mixer for many cocktails, including the Martini (beginning in the 1860s) and the Manhattan (beginning around 1874). In addition, the popular Vermouth cocktail, first appearing in 1869, consisted of chilled vermouth and a twist of lemon peel with the occasional addition of small amounts of bitters or maraschino. The popularity of vermouth-heavy cocktails in America, often using twice as much vermouth as gin or whiskey, continued through the 1880s and 1890s. Although the amount of vermouth used in cocktail recipes had somewhat declined, it has recently been experiencing a rise as a favorite among a new breed of bartenders, as a key ingredient in many cocktails. Vermouth gained popularity in the 1950s with help from the Martini, which was being marketed by liquor companies. Product placement and celebrity endorsements from personalities such as Ernest Hemingway and Humphrey Bogart helped to increase the Martini's profile. However, the most successful advertiser of the Martini was the fictional character James Bond.
The popularity of vermouth in the United States and Great Britain declined after the mid-20th century, but was still used in those countries in many classic cocktails such as the Manhattan, albeit in smaller amounts. The drink is more popular in other parts of Europe, such as Italy and France, where it is often consumed by itself as an apéritif. In the years since 2013, there has been renewed interest in vermouth in the US. Artisanal makers have created new brands of vermouth which do not seek to imitate European styles, and vermouth has been a fast-growing category within the wine trade.
Also referred to as red, rosso or rojo, this type of vermouth is more robust, richer and sweeter than white vermouth stylings. While sweet vermouth was traditionally made with a red wine base, it’s now more commonly made with a white wine base. The wine is fortified with high proof alcohol (most commonly an unaged brandy), infused with botanicals and sweetened with up to 15 percent sugar.
Sweet vermouth pairs well with aged spirits like bourbon or rye, scotch, and dark rum. Classic cocktails that use sweet vermouth include the Manhattan, Negroni and Rob Roy. While sweet vermouth can be sipped straight, it’s often too sweet to be enjoyable on its own.
Some of our favorite bottles of sweet vermouth are Carpano Antica Formula (barrel aged, big, juicy and robust), Carpano Punt e Mes (bittersweet and herbal), Contratto Vermouth Rosso (bright, fruity, floral and red wine-esque), and Cocchi Vermouth di Torino (rich, chocolatey, bitter and earthy).
This style of vermouth is typically bone dry, with no sugar added in the process, and is made from white wine grapes. Like sweet vermouth, the wine used to make dry vermouth is infused with botanicals—which tend to be more savory or herbal than fruity-and fortified with an unaged spirit. Dry vermouths tend to be more citrusy, herbaceous and floral than sweet vermouths. What grape is used as the base (or if it's allowed time to mature and rest in barrels, concrete or glass) will determine how naturally sweet or bone dry a dry vermouth is.
The most common use for dry vermouth is in a classic Martini-it pairs well with lighter spirits like gin, vodka and tequila. Dry vermouth can also be used in combination with sweet vermouths or other sweetened liqueurs (or amaros like Campari) to dry out a cocktail and make it less saccharine.
Labeled as a blanc vermouth in France and a bianco vermouth in Italy, this style is not bone dry like a dry vermouth, or as fully sweetened as a sweet vermouth. Blanc vermouths lie somewhere in between the two types and can range in sweetness from one brand to another. While this style of vermouth can still have the light floral or herbal flavors of a dry vermouth, blanc vermouths can also be richer-with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla-like a sweet vermouth. It can be made with white grapes or a combination of white and red grapes to create a semi-dry rose vermouth.
Blanc vermouths are extremely versatile behind the bar. They can still be used in a Dry Martini or a Vesper for a hint of sweetness to round out the drink, or they can be used in a Manhattan for a drier version of the cocktail. Blanc vermouths are also incredible sipped straight, over ice or in a Highball with seltzer. They have the perfect balance and sweetness to stand up on their own.