Vermouth tasting

[Yojimbo]

A local store was having a vermouth tasting today, and I jumped at the chance to sample a bunch of new brands that I've read about but never tasted. I thought it worthwhile to throw out my tasting notes while the memory is still fresh, for whatever they're worth, since these are not widely available bottles, nor are they cheap compared to standard vermouths.

In the house were:

Atsby and Uncouth Vermouth from the US, Contratto from Piedmont, Italy, and Casa Mariol from Catalonia, Spain.

Atsby: Adam from Atsby told me he's aiming his two styles a little further toward the middle of the vermouth spectrum, rather than the traditional dry and traditional sweet categories. The Amberthorn, called a "blonde" vermouth, has the dry floral characteristics of a classic dry vermouth -- I believe the grape used is Chardonnay -- but is sweeter, with a warm honey note that leans more toward a sweet vermouth. There's also a slight lavender note that should play nice with gin, though I didn't get a chance to try it mixed. Very sippable by itself.

I expected to like the Armadillo Cake more, It was unlike an Italian vermouth in profile, but threw out an interesting mix of orange, cinnamon and spice, and bitter quassia flavors,plus a hit of caramel. But it had a weird, almost old-fashioned candy note and waxy mouthfeel that hit in the middle and took me right back to childhood. Anybody ever have these candies that were wax bottles with sweet, syrupy-gummy liquid inside that you slurped as you chewed on the wax? Interesting, but I'm not sure I want to go back to that particular tasting memory.

Uncouth: Melissa is seriously opinionated about her stuff, in a good, wine-nerd kinda way. She does not use oxidized wine or add sugar to her vermouths, so they drink like aromatized wines rather than what one normally thinks of as a vermouth.

The Apple Mint had a whole bunch of citrusy herbal components alongside the mint, with a light, very dry base: almost like a drinking vinegar. Very sippable, but I'm not sure what it would mix with.

The Beet Eucalyptus, which I tried before I heard what it was, had amazing vegetal beet and celery notes along with the menthol from the Eucalyptus; it straddled the line between savory and sweet even more than the apple mint. I was unexpectedly and seriously impressed with it even though beet is far from my favorite flavor, I could see this going over big with anyone who likes making their own homemade pickles and waxes rhapsodic over kombucha, it had a really nice astringency that could be very interesting with things like Pimm's or straight gin.

The Serrano Lavender was a blast of well-balanced serrano heat and fresh green flavors with the lavender coming on afterwards. It had a honey-like sweetness that Melissa said came from late-harvest grapes. Uh, make that raisin-like sweetness. Really nice, but I can't really call it a Vermouth at all in any traditional sense.

Contratto bills itself as harkening back to the dawn of Vermouth production, when herbal infusions were added top cover the off tastes of oxidized wines that would otherwise be headed for the drain. They say they are using their original 19th century recipes with a base of Cortese grapes.

The bianco was like the offspring of a dry vermouth and a citrus-y apperitivo like Cocchi or Lillet Blanc. More viscous in mouthfeel than other dry vermouths, and a tad sweeter, but nicely balanced and complex. It was excellent with a little gin and a twist of orange, as well as on its own.

The rosso was much more like a traditional Italian, not too sweet. It approached the depth of better vermouths like Punt e Mes or Antica Formula,but without the bitterness or vanilla flavors of the latter.

Casa Mariol had one product, Vermut Negre, that is produced using a solera system similar to Sherry production, with the oldest barrels hitting 60 years, it's macerated with walnuts as well as herbs. To me it was reminiscent of Madeira as well as Sherry: rich, sweet and nutty, but with an herbal bite to it, perfect for serving with tapas or cheese.

And as an added bonus, they had another tasting up front of a French whisky: Brenne Estate Cask, It's a one-person operation, and distilled once a year after the barley is harvested. No peat, no smoke, and matured for 5 years in Limousin oak, then finished for 2 years in Cognac casks. I got a lot of vanilla up front, probably from the Cognac wood, along with fruit flavors, mainly apple. Not as complex as a Sherry-aged single malt like MaCallan, but clean, fruity, slightly spicy, with a nice little kick at the end. More of a sipper than a mixer, not a Scotch at all, but halfway between whisky and Cognac. The closest thing I've had to it is the Hitachino Nest distilled ale, not in terms of flavor palate but in lightness and clarity of flavor.

That's as much as my addled brain can remember, I'm curious to hear from others who've tasted these, and particularly who are mixing with them!

[janeer]

Thank you for taking the time to share this. I will look for some of these.

[Syzygies]

Here is a list of vermouths that includes all but your Casa Mariol: http://vermouth101.com/vermouths.html

On it I find Perucchi (Vermouth producer from Cataluña, Spain) which I buy sometimes from at the Spanish Table in Berkeley (http://spanishtable.com/). Both the rojo and blanco are true to type, and very interesting to sip over ice. I've never tried mixing them with gin or to make a drink.

With this nascent fascination, I ordered a vermouth on arrival at the seriously old school Hotel Etxeberri, Zumárraga, Spain (http://www.etxeberri.com/). Best vermouth I've ever had, though context didn't hurt. They surely made their own, as limoncello would be made along the Amalfi coast by any establishment.

So where's the thread on making vermouth? The picture in this NYTimes article says it all: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/dining/american-made-vermouths-anything-goes.html

[lesliec]

So where's the thread on making vermouth?

It's here!

No activity for a while, but I have plans to do something about that ...