In a lost, but not forgotten era of
bartending, there was vermouth.
Before electric blenders, sour mix and generic liqueurs,
there was
vermouth. Prior to Prohibition and the concoctions
created to make
bathtub gin more potable, there was vermouth. This was an
era where
if a barman wanted to use peaches in a drink, he would
need to go to
a tree and reach for the peaches, not merely reach for the
Peachtree
Schnapps. This was the time when vermouths and bitters
were the modifiers of choice. This era has not been forgotten thanks to
The
Martini and The Manhattan. These two cocktails carried
the dry vermouth and the sweet vermouth, respectively through every fad,
phase, twist and turn in cocktail history. So what is
vermouth? Where did it come from? How is it made?
There are four types, or classifications, of wines-still wines, sparkling wines, fortified wines and aromatized wines. Fortified wines are wines that have been fortified or strengthened with the addition of a distilled spirit, usually brandy. This fortification brings the alcohol level up into the 17% - 22% range. Some fortified wines are Port, Sherry, and Madeira. Some aromatized wines include Dubonnet (red & white), Lillet (red & white), Byrrh, Punt È mes, St. RaphaÎl, Cynar and, of course, sweet and dry vermouth. Aromatized wines are very often grouped in with fortified wines by virtue of the wine also having been strengthened with a distillate, but that is where the similarities end. Aromatized refers to the botanicals and aromatizing agents used in its production.
The word vermouth is derived from the German "wermut" meaning wormwood. Wormwood gained great notoriety as the vilified ingredient in the outlawed Absinthe. Aside from this ingredient vermouth can have anywhere from 30-50 ingredients macerated with the basic wine. Some ingredients are quinine, ginger, rose petals, bark, hyssop, elder, juniper, citrus peels, coriander, nutmeg, chamomile and gentian just to name a few. This steeping takes over a month; the brandy is added just prior to the 2-4 years of oak aging. Then it gets caramel for color consistency (red only); it gets sweetened, pasteurized, even frozen to remove tartrates, finally filtered and bottled. You can see how vermouths are far removed from fortified wines, and even further removed from wine, as we know it. But don't expect me, or anyone else to be able to give you the exact recipe for any of these vermouths; they have been highly guarded secrets since way back when apothecaries used them as a medicine for malaria.
Antonio Carpano first produced sweet vermouth commercially around 1786 in Torino, Italy (Carpano Punt È mes). Coincidentally, around 1800, Louis Noilly was producing drier vermouth in Lyon, France (Noilly Prat). Today, both countries produce the red, sweet vermouth and the white, dry vermouth. Many people to this day, however, order "Italian" when they want sweet vermouth and "French" when they want dry vermouth. These requests, usually from people visiting America, remind me of others worth noting. When someone asks for a "Martini over ice," it may not be our famous cocktail they're requesting, but simply vermouth on the rocks. A "half & half" may not be the blend of milk & cream, or a Harp & Guinness (aka black & tan), but a drink of equal parts sweet & dry vermouth. Also keep in mind that Italy produces a very popular sweet vermouth that is white, called Bianco.
These explanations would have been, needless to say, if we were bartending 100 years ago, during the time when vermouth and bitters ruled the bar. Today, I know of two ways that we can experience the subtle magic created by the use of vermouth & bitters. One is to thumb through any bar book that was published between 1865 and 1940, where you will clearly see how vestigial the Martini and Manhattan truly are. The other is to visit the CAMPBELL APARTMENT at Grand Central Station in New York City. This historic cocktail lounge welcomes every guest with a sign that reads COCKTAILS FROM ANOTHER
ERA...
Here is one of the many classics served at the Campbell Apartment:
DELMONICO
2 1/2 oz. Gin
1 oz. French Vermouth
2 dashes Orange Bitters
Orange Peel garnish
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