What is vermouth?

Vermouth (or vermouth) is an aromatized fortified wine. A fortified wine is flavored by adding herbs and spices. Traditionally, the addition of the botanical wormwood is mandatory. The word "Vermouth" comes from the German word for wormwood "wermut". Modern versions of the drink were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France. Vermouth was consumed as a medicine until the late 19th century. After that, the drink gained international popularity as an ingredient in many of the first, classic cocktails, such as the martini. The basis of vermouth is wine. Each manufacturer adds extra (wine) alcohol and a proprietary mix of dry ingredients, consisting of aromatic herbs, roots, and other botanicals, to the base wine, which is then bottled. In the base, a distinction is made between dry and sweet vermouth, in different colors from light yellow to red.

How to serve vermouth?

Een luxurious aperitive or digestive 

Classic vermouths are the basis of many well-known cocktails. High-quality vermouths are more suitable for pure enjoyment, preferably chilled with a single ice cube, possibly with a slice of lemon or orange. Pure vermouth is served on the terrace, as a luxurious aperitif or contemporary digestif.

History

By the 16th century, fortified wines with wormwood as one of the main ingredients already existed in Germany. An Italian merchant named D'Alessio began producing a similar product in Piedmont around the same time. By the middle of the 17th century, the drink was popular in England as "Vermouth". This name has remained unchanged to this day. Over time, two different versions of Vermouth emerged, one pale, dry and bitter, the other red and sweeter. Merchant Antonio Benedetto Carpano introduced the first sweet Vermouth in 1786 in Turin. The drink quickly became popular with the royal court of Turin. Around the beginning of the 19th century (1813), the first pale, dry Vermouth was produced in France by Joseph Noilly. Both styles have evolved considerably. Today, not all pale Vermouth is certainly dry, and not all red Vermouth is soft. Moreover, many intermediate forms are now available with regard to sweetness. Vermouth's popularity as a medicinal product declined towards the end of the 19th century, but the advent of cocktails brought a new popular use for vermouth. Bartenders found that vermouth was the ideal mix for many cocktails, including the martini (as early as the 1860s) and the Manhattan (beginning around 1874). In addition, the popular Vermouth Cocktail emerged, which included chilled vermouth, a dash of lemon zest, and occasionally small amounts of bitters or maraschino. Vermouth's popularity continued to grow throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Although the amount of vermouth used in cocktail recipes declined somewhat afterward, it remained an important ingredient in many popular cocktails.Production, Ingredients and Flavours

Production, Ingredients and Flavours

The wines that form the basis of vermouth are usually clairette and picpoul for French vermouth and catarratto and trebbiano for Italian vermouth. The wine is allowed to age slightly before the addition of other ingredients. High-quality vermouths are fortified with wine alcohol and stored in large barrels or tanks after the addition of the botanicals. Dry ingredients used in vermouth include cloves, cinnamon, quinine, citrus zest, cardamom, marjoram, chamomile, coriander, juniper, hyssop and ginger. The banning of wormwood as an ingredient in some countries in the early 20th century has greatly reduced its content, but small amounts of the herb are still sometimes used. Vermouth brand recipes vary, as most manufacturers want to profile themselves with their own unique flavour and version of the drink. Traditional sweet vermouth usually contains 10-15% sugar, compared to only 4% in dry vermouth. The term "Italian Vermouth" is often used to refer to red-tinted, slightly bitter and sweet Vermouth. These types of Vermouth are also called "rosso." The label "French Vermouth" generally refers to pale, dry Vermouths that are more bitter than sweet. The extra bitterness is often obtained by the use of nutmeg or bitter orange peel. Bianca is a name given to a type of pale, sweeter Vermouth.