You Should Know the Difference Between Vermouth and Vermouth di Torino

In cocktails, vermouth is essential. It’s the splash that makes a Martini more than just chilled vodka and a Manhattan more than chilled whiskey. It is the bittersweet bridge between the gin and the Campari in a Negroni. And yet, vermouth is misunderstood. Though it should be kept chilled after opening, it often languishes in the liquor cabinet, getting musty.

It’s not entirely the drinking public’s fault that vermouth has been treated so shabbily. Adding aromatic flavorings to wine, as is done with vermouth, was for centuries a way to mask flaws. Doing it to add character is a relatively new invention (the late 1700s in Italy for sweet vermouth, and the early 1800s in France for dry, white vermouth). Now, there’s a new category designed to further elevate vermouth’s status. It is Italy’s Vermouth di Torino IGP, the world’s first protected designation for the aromatized, fortified wine.

A quick primer on vermouth

To make vermouth, producers fortify a base wine with neutral spirit, bringing it to roughly 14–22% ABV. The wine is also aromatized, or infused with aromatic botanicals. Recipes are often proprietary, but the botanicals in them can number two or three dozen: citrus peel or cinchona for bitterness; fragrant herbs like angelica and rosemary; chamomile, lavender, and other flowers; cinnamon, cardamom, and other warm spices. Historically, though, vermouth’s lead botanical has been wormwood, a perennial herb with a bitter flavor that’s also used in absinthe. In German, wormwood is called wermut, the French pronunciation of which is “vermouth.”

Most often, the base wine for vermouth is white, but depending on the ingredients that infuse the wine, the final product may appear as red “sweet” vermouth or as a drier white version. Semi-dry options exist, called vermouth bianco or blanc, as well as a less common rosé version.

Related: All Vermouth Isn’t the Same — These Are the Best to Use for 8 Classic Cocktails

Vermouth di Torino’s history and high standards

People have been infusing wine with plant materials since at least 1250 B.C., when it was first aromatized for medicinal purposes in China. But vermouth as we know it is a Piemontese creation. It originates in the city of Turin, where in 1786, herbalist and wine shop owner Antonio Benedetto Carpano used high-quality ingredients to create the first commercial sweet vermouth. Carpano’s shop was across the street from the Royal Palace of Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy, who took an instant liking to the vermouth and declared it one of his royal household drinks.

Vermouth remained popular until the 20th century and was often included in pre-Prohibition cocktail recipes. But its use slowly declined, as the original Martinez, a 50/50 gin-and–sweet vermouth-based concoction, evolved into drier and drier Martinis in the post-WWII years.

In contemporary times, with the revival of vintage cocktails, quality vermouth also returned. “Vermouth is having a comeback in Turin, partially through cocktails — the Americano, the Negroni, the Sbagliato — but we’re also seeing more and more people asking for it neat or over ice,” says Alex Ouziel, producer of the Vermouth di Torino brand 9diDante. This has much to do with the official European Union recognition of the Vermouth di Torino IGP, or Indicazione Geografica Protetta (Protected Geographical Indication) in 2019.

Under the rules of the IGP, Vermouth di Torino focuses production on Piedmontese terroir as a means of establishing quality. Three-quarters of the wine in the vermouth must be Italian, and the wormwood must come from Piemonte. For a higher class of the designate, called Vermouth di Torino Superiore, half the wine and all the botanicals must be Piemontese. Many producers go even further than the standards. 9diDante, for example, uses only Piemonte DOC wines, and 100% of its 27 botanicals come from the area around the Piemontese town of Alba.

Vermouth di Torino brands to seek out

French vermouths are so delicate, they can be wan. Spanish vermouths can be great, but attempts to establish IGP-like standards there haven’t panned out. American craft vermouths are often so iconoclastic that they can be difficult to mix in a classic cocktail.

But Vermouth di Torino is versatile and reliable for both sipping and mixing. That makes it great for home use, says Alec Kass, beverage director at New York City’s Rosevale Cocktail Room, which boasts one of the world’s largest collection of vermouths, more than 220 brands. Kass likes Alessio Rosso Vermouth di Torino, for example, in his Americanos. Its intense bitterness from two kinds of wormwood mingles with flavors of prunes, sarsaparilla, and espresso. He’s also a fan of Oscar 697 Bianco Vermouth di Torino. With its muscat grape base and elderflower infusion, it sports a honeyed nose but a balancing bitter finish. He sips it neat as an aperitif or blends it into a White Negroni.

Related: White Negroni

The IGP is such a draw that enthusiasts have been coming from elsewhere in Europe to make vermouths in Piemonte. Cucielo Vermouth di Torino is the work of a Scotsman, Andy Holmes. His white vermouth, Cucielo Dry, is punchy with fresh green apple, cardamom, and elderberry notes, but with a savoriness from the succulent aloe ferox, which is rich in amino acids. Cucielo Rosso is musky and mellow with Calabrian orange peel, rhubarb, gentian, and a healthy dose of Madagascar vanilla. It’s a deep, rich vermouth that’s ideal for Negronis.

Alex Ouziel hails from Spain’s Basque region. He named 9diDante after the Italian poet Dante Alighieri and based his vermouths on Dante’s Divine Comedy. Inferno, the rosso version, smells like cherry blossoms and the sage-like tansy that is part of its formula. It has notes of cardamom and orange peel with an herbaceous finish from fennel and basil. His dry vermouth, Purgatorio, finishes minty and citrusy but with a pear-like roundness in the mid-palate.

For Kass, however, the apex of the category is the Pio Cesare Rosso Vermouth di Torino. Made by a famed Barolo-producing family, it is as textural as can be with a cake-spice allure, a balanced bittersweetness, and a golden lift from the Chardonnay that makes up half the recipe. The bottle looks old-school because winemaker Federica Boffa has revived an original 1880s label. Back then, there were so many poor-quality vermouths on the market that her great-great-grandfather stopped producing the stuff. He didn’t want his family associated with such a bad product.

Boffa’s revival of Pio Cesare’s production is evidence that times have changed for Piemontese vermouth. “It’s gorgeous, with a flavor that almost reaches into pastry territory, and fruit notes you’re not expecting,” says Kass. “Combine that with a beautiful bourbon or rye in a Manhattan, and you get a marvelous blueberry-crumble taste that people love.” It’s so juicy and jammy, he notes, “that you could serve it for breakfast.” 

Read the original article on Food & Wine