Bianco/Blanc Vermouth

[Mayur]

So, given the reintroduction of the M&R Bianco into US markets, and the kinda-sorta-spike in cocktails using Bianco vermouth, my basic question is: Which one do you, the cognoscenti, prefer?

I generally find the M&R red unacceptably musty and the white just kind of boring, but a) neither of those are the Bianco and b) my opinion on those products may be completely wrongheaded. Any thoughts generally on the competing Bianchi?

[eje]

I have to admit I've never tried a Bianco Vermouth.

I guess they are sort of half way between the stronger flavored Rossos and Milder Dry Vermouth?

Is there any cocktail use for them?

Cocktails that take particular advantage?

Or are they just for drinking straight?

[phlip]

I'm a real big fan of the Bianco vermouth and I think hands and pants down the Martini and Rossi I feel is far superior to the cinzano. The drinks I've used the bianco for are clearly a different and inferior drink with the cinzano. One of my favorite uses of the Bianco is its affinity with tequila. Very very lovely combo.

[foodhunter]

FYI, there's a recent discussion of bianco vermouth's in the PDT thread over in the New York Region forum.

[Mayur]

Thanks for the recs, phlip!

Given the excellent drinks I've had at D&Co with M&R (both rosso and bianco), I probably should redact my earlier criticism. That said, I've never been able to produce a M&R rosso drink to my tastes at home (or for that matter order one at Pegu, Little Branch, or M&H). Hmm.

[Mayur]

Just got done with some fill-in (amateur) bartending at an old university favorite...

Half grapefruit (divided into four eighths)

2 oz. jalapeno-infused blanco tequila (Herradura silver)

0.75 oz. M&R bianco

0.75 oz. elderflower syrup (housemade)

0.25 oz lime juice

Muddle grapefruit sections in mixing glass. Add other ingredients plus ice, shake, and strain into chilled cocktail glass. (Yeah, it's a little too big, but scaling it down gets us into weird measures, so I left it like that.)

A nice demonstration of how the bianco plus tequila works. Thanks for the tip, phlip!

Edited July 20, 2007 by Mayur (log)

[TAPrice]

I picked up a bottle of bianco vermouth this week. I actually walked into my neighborhood supermarket intent on buying a bottle of chartreuse, but it was just too expensive to pull the trigger. Instead, I walked out with applejack, falernum and bianco vermouth. This month, I'm playing with less expensive ingredients.

So what can I do with this vermouth? It's actually pretty nice just to sip. But what cocktails would use it?

I assumed that it would work as a sweet vermouth substitute, but a 2:1 Manhattan made with bianco vermouth and 4 dashes of Angostura is pretty hot and rough. Maybe I need to up the proportions? Or maybe a perfect Manhattan with sweet and bianco?

[Mayur]

A Martinez variant works well:

2 oz gin

1/2 oz bianco vermouth

1/4 maraschino

a dash of bitters.

Another use is a vieux carre variant of some kind; I find that equal parts gin + tequila + bianco with some interesting bitters (I use some Peychaud's, some Bitter Truth lemon), a dash of Pernod, and a flamed lemon peel is delicious.

Phil at Death & Co made me a drink with Bushmills + bianco a while back, but since it also had chartreuse, you're a bit out of luck there.

Tequila and bianco are generally quite lovely; even just 2 reposado tequila to 1/2 bianco plus some Angostura is nice.

[TarteTatin]

Just put it on a bit of ice and put a lemon twist in it and sip it.

That's the best.

[plattetude]

Also from Phil at Death&Co, there's the Rojo Bianco, which I've interpreted to the best of my abilities as:

2 oz reposado tequila

1/2 oz bianco vermouth

1/2 oz maraschino liqueur

1/2 oz Campari

I also like a similar take with an assertive gin as the base (Beefeaters or the like).

Christopher

[lemon_twist]

I actually walked into my neighborhood supermarket ... I walked out with applejack, falernum and bianco vermouth.

←

What supermarket is this? What type of falernum did you pick up there? This seems like a nice selection for a supermarket...

[TAPrice]

I actually walked into my neighborhood supermarket ... I walked out with applejack, falernum and bianco vermouth.

←

What supermarket is this? What type of falernum did you pick up there? This seems like a nice selection for a supermarket...

←

The supermarket was Dorignac's in Metairie, LA (just outside New Orleans). The falernum was John D. Taylor's Velvet. And yes, it's a pretty amazing selection. Not a gourmet place, just a locals place.

[lemon_twist]

Thanks!

I don't live in NO anymore, but the fam's all there. Actually, right around that area too.

[Yojimbo]

I tried David Wondrich's recipe for an El Presidente from Imbibe magazine yesterday (or close to it, the only grenadine around was Leroux, so I subbed pomegranate molasses, simple syrup, and a drop of orange blossom water). It was good enough for me to ponder other recipes for blanc vermouth; it has a softness and additional sweetness that dry vermouth lacks, so I'm not sure it would play as well with gin, say, without citrus or something else to counteract the sweetness. Anybody else experimenting with this stuff?

[EvergreenDan]

It's taking me an inordinately long time to drink up my bottle of M&R bianco. I want to like it, but it lacks the acidity of dry and the richness of a red sweet vermouth. I find I usually reach past it for something more interesting.

That said, maybe this will help. And you have to love the name!

Eeyore's Requiem

by Toby Maloney, The Violet Hour, Chicago, IL

2 oz Campari

1 oz Bianco Vermouth, Dolin

1/2 oz Cynar

1/4 oz Fernet Branca (skinny)

1 ds Orange bitters (50% Fee / 50% Regan's)

3 twst Orange peel (expressed, one as garnish)

Stirred, garnished with heavy orange oil and a pigtail twist.

My notes: Fabulous. Quite bitter, without any acid to soften it. Fernet adds complexity and depth without obvious menthol. A great drink, even for the Fernet hatter.

[campus five]

I bought of Dolin Blanc for making cocktails, especially White Negronis, but ended up just drinking it on the rocks with a lemon twist and splash of soda.

I can't even remember if I have made a cocktail with it at home. It's the perfect summer afternoon drink. Same thing happened with my bottle of Cocchi Americano.

Still need to get around to making a cocktail with that.

[KatieLoeb]

We have a drink on our menu called the Blanc & Blue. The Dolin Blanc is DELICIOUS with gin:

2.25 oz. Bluecoat gin

.75 oz. Dolin Blanc

Garnish: 3" strip grapefruit rind, expressed over drink and dropped in.

This works with Plymouth too but then we garnish with some skewered blueberries along with the grapefruit twist so the name still works. This is the perfect summer martini. Light and refreshing without being as heavy and boozy feeling as a regular gin martini. It's quite popular.

[Tri2Cook]

Eeyore's Requiem

by Toby Maloney, The Violet Hour, Chicago, IL

2 oz Campari

1 oz Bianco Vermouth, Dolin

1/2 oz Cynar

1/4 oz Fernet Branca (skinny)

1 ds Orange bitters (50% Fee / 50% Regan's)

3 twst Orange peel (expressed, one as garnish)

Stirred, garnished with heavy orange oil and a pigtail twist.

I really like that drink. It's a perfect match of name and taste... pleasantly bitter.

[Yojimbo]

Katie, thanks for pushing me to try it with gin -- you're right, it does go very nicely, it's just that nothing will ever take the place of a classic 2-1 dry martini in my heart, er, stomach.

As for Eyore's Requiem, it sounds fascinating, but without Fernet (I wouldn't call myself a hater, but I'm not an aficionado either) or Cynar, I'm stuck. Time to start subbing and see what happens!

[EvergreenDan]

Yojimbo -- the Fernet is surprisingly subtle. My wife pretty much hates it, and I just make Eeyore's Requiem last night and she loved it like always. You could sub something else minty, I suppose. Cynar is a pretty important amaro. It is worth seeking out. If you like Campari, you'll like (or love) Cynar.

On topic, I also made a little trio of M&R bianco, Sutton Cellars Brown Label Vermouth (a dry very spicy vermouth), and Punt e Mes. Nice acid balance, good body, interesting flavors. Would make a nice semi-kinda-perfect Manhattan.

[campus five]

I'm not really into Martini's, despite having made them with a variety of quality gins, fresh vermouth, and in varying ratios from bone-dry to reverse.

Even the best ones were good, but not something I really enjoy.

However, this variation changes things: http://sloshed.hyperkinetic.org/2010/11/11/marleighs-favorite-martini/

It's 1:1 Citadelle Reserve to Dolin Blanc, orange bitters, lemon twist.

Amazing.

I've never made one for myself because I have seen Citadelle Reserve on the shelves anywhere since, but I just picked up a bottle a couple of days ago. I think it's time to break it out.

*Edited to add that, as Marleigh suggests, the recipe is completely brand specific.

Edited September 14, 2011 by campus five (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Katie, thanks for pushing me to try it with gin -- you're right, it does go very nicely, it's just that nothing will ever take the place of a classic 2-1 dry martini in my heart, er, stomach.

Glad you enjoyed it. It's definitely not meant to take the place of a dry martini. That is and will always be it's own thing and a classic. The Dolin Blanc is delicious on it's own on the rocks with an orange twist or in the Blanc & Blue as a sort of lighter and slightly sweeter variation on a classic dry martini. I'm planning on experimenting with it a bit more and possibly substituting it for sweet vermouth in a few applications to see what happens. I suspect that will work sometimes but not always, depending on what else is in the glass. Will report back when I have something worthy of note...

Edited September 15, 2011 by KatieLoeb (log)

[mkayahara]

It's taking me an inordinately long time to drink up my bottle of M&R bianco. I want to like it, but it lacks the acidity of dry and the richness of a red sweet vermouth. I find I usually reach past it for something more interesting.

That said, maybe this will help. And you have to love the name!

Eeyore's Requiem

by Toby Maloney, The Violet Hour, Chicago, IL

2 oz Campari

1 oz Bianco Vermouth, Dolin

1/2 oz Cynar

1/4 oz Fernet Branca (skinny)

1 ds Orange bitters (50% Fee / 50% Regan's)

3 twst Orange peel (expressed, one as garnish)

Stirred, garnished with heavy orange oil and a pigtail twist.

My notes: Fabulous. Quite bitter, without any acid to soften it. Fernet adds complexity and depth without obvious menthol. A great drink, even for the Fernet hatter.

So, now, it appears that there are two versions of this drink running around. I was just glancing at beta cocktails, and it lists the Eeyor's [sic] Requiem as:

1.5 oz Campari

0.5 oz Tanqueray

0.25 oz Cynar

scant 0.25 oz Fernet Branca

1 oz Dolin blanc vermouth

15 drops 50/50 bitters

3 orange twists

I don't object to the lack of a "definitive" version, but I bet that half-ounce of gin sure makes a difference.

[Tri2Cook]

I make the one without the gin. I don't know if it's considered definitive but it sure is tasty. I've seen the version with less Campari and Cynar and the addition of gin but haven't tried it. I'm willing to but it's going to have to be pretty convincing to be better even if it is authentic.

[Alchemist]

Very sorry about the confusion. The Beta was the very first version. Like many things, the first time ain't the greatest (Prince). So after making it a bunch more times we found the little trick of adding the gin.

It's good both ways, but we like the addition of the proof.

Cheers,

Toby