You have to feel sorry for someone who arrives at a party with an invitation only to be ignored or, worse yet, turned away at the door.
That has been the sad fate of vermouth in this country. Guaranteed immortality thanks to its role as sidekick to gin in the classic dry martini, the greatest cocktail of all, it has suffered humiliation as bartenders pour a mere drop or two into the martini shaker, or, worse yet, omit it altogether. Surely this fortified wine, with its highly aromatic personality, deserves a more dashing classification than the food chemist’s description “modifying agent.”
In Europe, vermouth has respect. First introduced in Italy during the 16th Century, it is an honored member of the aperitif club, served on the rocks at pre-lunch and dinner gatherings and featured in cocktails in its dry or sweet form, or sometimes both in combination. Eye-catching advertisements, bar ashtrays and beach umbrellas tout French products such as Noilly Prat and Italian favorites such as Martini and Rossi, Cinzano and Stock. Vermouth spin-offs include Campari, Lillet and Dubonnet.
There are signs, though, that even here in the U.S. vermouth is beginning to pull out of its moribund state. Joe Congiusti, a salesman who handles vermouth at Sam’s Wines & Spirits, echoes other retailers when he reports that sales of dry and sweet vermouth are growing as some younger consumers, saturated with novelty cocktails, turn to the classics.
Dry vermouth is called for in at least 100 cocktails. Sweet vermouth appears in the Negroni, Americano and Metropolitan and others. Dry and sweet combinations include the “perfect” Manhattan , perfect Rob Roy and the Bronx.
But such drinks call for only a small amount of vermouth. Sales would increase much more dramatically if Americans began to drink vermouth as an aperitif, served chilled in a wine glass or poured over ice in an old-fashioned glass and garnished with lemon, lime or orange.
This vision is bound to produce frowns of doubt on many faces. A goodly percentage of Americans who try vermouth don’t like it. They may find the flavor of 20 to 50 aggressive aromatics too intense. The combination of herbs, plants and flavorings may include chamomile, coriander, cloves, hyssop, juniper, orange peel, quinine, rose petals or other flowers. (Wormwood, known as “wermut” in German, gave vermouth its name, but is banned as toxic in the United States.) They may find it lacks freshness and, indeed, if left on a shelf for months after opening (a common occurrence), vermouth will spoil. They may have tried it at room temperature, which is a mistake.
Furthermore, in an era of “super premium” spirits, the vermouth category (where prices hover near $6 for a 750 milliliter bottle) has lacked the glamor, and the price tag, that attracts the conspicuous consumer.
Enter two California wine producers, Dan Duckhorn of Duckhorn Vineyards in the Napa Valley and Andrew Quady, whose Quady Winery is in the Central Valley town of Madera. Last year each of them introduced vermouths priced at more than $20 a bottle.
Duckhorn’s King Eider, named for the arctic duck, is made primarily from sauvignon blanc wine.
“I did this because I had the base product. We were selling off some sauvignon in bulk at an unattractive price. Also, because I had noticed a rejuvenation of the cocktail hour in hotels and fine restaurants, and I realized no one was doing anything to draw attention to vermouth.
“I asked myself, `Why shouldn’t there be a classy vermouth to use to make martinis the right way or to drink as an aperitif?’ and made 1,500 cases.”
Meanwhile, Quady, after three years of research, including a visit to France and a hunt through some old books in the library at the University of California at Davis, introduced dry and sweet vermouths with the name Vya.
It began when “a friend pointed out the void in that category,” he says. “I thought it was a nice idea and would be an artistic challenge.
“I learned vermouth had negative associations, but we were collecting all these plants and herbs, the quality was exceptional and I realized they had a positive image. So I started calling our product a `herbal experience.’ “
Quady made 800 cases of each type and has produced a second batch.
“I think we really have improved on the European product,” he says. “Ours has more punch and complexity.” (He has a gold medal from the 1999 London International Wine Challenge to support that claim, but also acknowledges that some find it too strong and bitter.)
Both men acknowledge the difficulty of converting consumers who have become wary of the word “vermouth.”
Quady says Vya is “its own `V’ word,” writ large on the label so it will, he hopes, be ordered by name. Duckhorn, in turn, is “considering creating a proprietary name” as was done with Lillet and Dubonnet.
Progress on the aperitif front is apparent, though. Joe Catterson, sommelier at Rhapsody restaurant, says he is seeing “a good smattering of aperitif glasses around the dining room and at the bar” after introducing an aperitif page at the front of the menu and on the wine list.
Drew Goss, co-owner and sommelier at Zinfandel, the Grand Avenue restaurant that serves only American-made wines and spirits, says he has been converting skeptical customers by serving King Eider on the rocks with a garnish of lemon or orange zest. “The most skeptical are the easiest to convert,” he says. “They start out saying, `You’ve got to be kidding.’ Then, after a sip, it’s `That’s pretty good.’ “
At Rhapsody, Catterson offers a house cocktail that combines French sparkling wine from Samur with Vya sweet vermouth.
Dan Duckhorn cites a cocktail made with equal amounts of chilled King Eider and Absolut Mandarine garnished with a wedge of orange.
Julia Child has long endorsed the “upside-down martini,” of two parts dry vermouth to one part gin.
Goss makes a more conventional martini at Zinfandel, but makes it an all-American cocktail by using King Eider and Cascade Mountain gin from Oregon.
NEGRONI
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
The Negroni is related to a less potent drink called the Americano, which leaves out the gin.
2 tablespoons each:
Campari, sweet vermouth, gin
3 or 4 ice cubes
Soda water, optional
1. Pour Campari, vermouth and gin into old-fashioned glass. Add ice; stir.
2. Serve as is, adding soda water if desired. Or strain into chilled martini glass. omitting soda.
Nutrition information:
Calories ……….. 195 Fat ……….. 0 g Saturated fat .. 0 g
% calories from fat .. 0 Cholesterol .. 0 mg Sodium …….. 4 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 13 g Protein ……. 0 g Fiber ………. 0 g
MARTINI
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 serving
1/3 cup gin
1 tablespoon dry vermouth
4 ice cubes
2 olives, stuffed with blue cheese or anchovy, skewered on a toothpick
1. Combine gin, vermouth and ice cubes in shaker. Shake vigorously at least 30 seconds.
2. Strain into chilled martini glass; add olives.
Nutrition information:
Calories ……….. 230 Fat ………. 0.9 g Saturated fat .. 0.1 g
% calories from fat .. 3 Cholesterol … 0 mg Sodium …….. 170 mg
Carbohydrates …… 1 g Protein …… 0.1 g Fiber ………… 0 g
AFFINITY
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 serving
The Affinity was a Prohibition favorite among those who could get high-quality ingredients.
2 tablespoons each: sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, Scotch whisky
Dash Angostura bitters
3 or 4 ice cubes
1 strip lemon peel, optional
1. Pour vermouths into shaker. Add Scotch, bitters and ice cubes.
2. Stir to chill ingredients; strain into chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon strip over drink; discard strip.
Nutrition information:
Calories ………… 160 Fat ………… 0 g Saturated fat … 0 g
% calories from fat … 0 Cholesterol … 0 mg Sodium ……… 4 mg
Carbohydrates ……. 5 g Protein …….. 0 g Fiber ……….. 0 g
BRONX COCKTAIL
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
New York bartenders have been using vermouth as a cocktail ingredient for more than a century. The Bronx dates from 1906 when it was introduced at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
1 tablespoon each: sweet vermouth, dry vermouth
2 tablespoons each: fresh orange juice, gin
3 or 4 ice cubes
1/4 slice orange
1. Pour vermouths and orange juice into shaker. Add gin and ice cubes.
2. Shake sharply; strain into glass. Garnish with orange slice.
Nutrition information:
Calories ……….. 135 Fat ………… 0 g Saturated fat .. 0 g
% calories from fat .. 0 Cholesterol … 0 mg Sodium ……… mg
Carbohydrates …… 6 g Protein …… 0.3 g Fiber …….. 0.2 g
