Vermouth

[lindag]

When a recipe calls for white wine I use vermouth because I never have a small amount of white wine available and I don't often drink it.  My vermouth seems to keep, opened, forever.

Edited August 8, 2014 by lindag (log)

[Rafa]

Tempus Fugit Spirits announced the Alessio Vermouth Renaissance series, which will focus on vermouth styles that are seldom exported outside of Italy, and recreations of styles that are seldom seen at at all these days. Their first two releases, a Torino-style rosso and a chinato, should be available in October. 

[bostonapothecary]

Fairly vigorous blind testing on Serious Eats: The Best Way to Store Vermouth

 

an idea to throw out there, which I just read about in a wine makers catalog, is to add glass marbles to your container to displace what was poured out. I guess some winemakers do this with experimental ferments when there is no stock to top it up with, and they don't want to/can't put down a gas blanket into a large void.

 

I'm not sure if the trick will come in handy for anyone's preservation ritual or small scale projects but there it is.

[JMForester]

"add glass marbles to your container to displace what was poured out. I guess some winemakers do this with experimental ferments when there is no stock to top it up with, and they don't want to/can't put down a gas blanket into a large void."

 

I usually use a spritz of gas, but if you don't have a smaller container to decant into, something like glass marbles could work well. Just have to make sure they are inert, and sterile.

[Joe Blowe]

Serious Eats published a long write-up recently on storage options, The Best Way to Store Vermouth:
 

Refrigeration works pretty darned well. I wish I could go back in time and set up a more rigorous experiment, but I honestly thought I would be able to tell the difference in opened vs. unopened vermouth in just a few days time. Since a month made no difference to me, my hypothesis was obviously shattered.

 

Vermouth stays drinkable longer than wine does. Most wine lovers would agree that leaving a bottle of wine sitting on the counter for more than a day or two, let alone a few weeks, would mean having to scrap the bottle. And yet, after a full thirty days at room temperature during which I repeatedly opened a bottle of vermouth and exposed it to the air, still only four out of seven tasters could accurately identify the aged sample.

 

Inert gas works better than rebottling. This one was another big surprise for me. The rebottled vermouth had two things going for it: less headspace and the fact that I didn't open them over and over. And yet, more people correctly identified the rebottled sample—and disliked it—than the sample purged with inert gas.

 

 

Short version: Refrigeration and/or a can of inert gas are the best options.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

I tried Maurin sweet vermouth for the first time a few days ago. It's very savory, with a lot of herbs such as thyme. Almost reminiscent of the seasonings in tomato sauce. Apparently it's a fairly new product made based on an old recipe. Maurin currently belongs to Anchor Distilling.

I used it to make a Negroni.

 

 

 

 

[TheBoozeBaron]

On 01/03/2016 at 6:31 AM, FrogPrincesse said:

I tried Maurin sweet vermouth for the first time a few days ago. It's very savory, with a lot of herbs such as thyme. Almost reminiscent of the seasonings in tomato sauce. Apparently it's a fairly new product made based on an old recipe. Maurin currently belongs to Anchor Distilling.

I used it to make a Negroni.

 

 

 

 

Good? Bad? Worth investigating or just stick with Dolin for basics and local interesting stuff for the others?

[FrogPrincesse]

10 hours ago, TheBoozeBaron said:

Good? Bad? Worth investigating or just stick with Dolin for basics and local interesting stuff for the others?

It's different. It's not going to relace my favorite sweet vermouths - Dolin, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Punt e Mes - but it's nice to have some variety!

[lindag]

Looking for a very nice sweet and a dry.

Anything you'd like to recommend?

[blue_dolphin]

My go-to sweet vermouths are:

• Cocchi Vermouth di Torino when I want a light touch, my summer vermouth
• Carpano Punt e Mes when I want something more forward with a touch of bitterness
• Carpano Antica for something luxurious, my winter vermouth and  a must for holiday cocktails

 

Dolin Dry is my favorite dry vermouth

 

[Alex]

For a sweet red, Lustau is good and widely available. I'm also a big fan of Contratto. I very seldom used a dry white, but when I did, I used Dolin.

[Duvel]

I second the Lustau (red) recommendation - you won’t be disappointed 🙏

[Katie Meadow]

6 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

My go-to sweet vermouths are:

• Cocchi Vermouth di Torino when I want a light touch, my summer vermouth
• Carpano Punt e Mes when I want something more forward with a touch of bitterness
• Carpano Antica for something luxurious, my winter vermouth and  a must for holiday cocktails

 

Dolin Dry is my favorite dry vermouth

 

Carpano Antica is a favorite. I love it in summer just over ice. I also like the Cocchi di Torino but  can't remember the last time I had it or how. I love the amaro bitters, but surprisingly I don't like compari / or a negroni. My mother always had a bottle of Punt e Mes around in her dotage. Needless to say she didn't have a drop of Italian blood, but she did have an Italian boyfriend.