In the Spirit
Which Sweet Vermouth?
Finding the best cocktail companion
By Tony Cross
One of my best friends is an avid beer drinker. He gets off on all of the subtle complexities that make beer and all of the varietals unique. He sent me a message last week asking, for probably the third time, “What’s the name of that damn vermouth again?”
My friend and his wife were at a cocktail lounge in Canada where they enjoyed a few classic drinks. The negroni was one of them. For someone who never drinks cocktails, he was amazed at the possibilities when combining spirit, sweet and bitter. Now, if he could only remember which vermouth they used, he could recreate the drink at home. Because we live to serve, here are a few sweet vermouths and how to pair them with some of the classics — including his. Now he’ll have a paper trail.
Manhattan
The first time I made a proper drink, it was a Manhattan. I had special-ordered a case of rye whiskey from our ABC and taken a trip to a wine shop in Southern Pines to purchase a bottle of vermouth. Rittenhouse was the rye and Carpano Antica was the vermouth. The drink forever changed the way I viewed cocktails. I’ve always been adamant about making Manhattans with Carpano, but I do change the specs from time to time. Lately, I’ve been using Mancino vermouth. It was birthed in Asti, Piedmont, in 2011, when owner Giancarlo Mancino wanted to create the world’s finest vermouths with hand-picked botanicals and spices. The Mancino vermouth is a little more full-bodied than the Carpano, with notes of baking spices and juniper. Trying this on its own, with or without ice, is a great way to understand your vermouth’s flavor profile before adding it to your cocktail. It’s also great as an aperitif.
2 ounces rye whiskey
1 ounce Mancino vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Put whiskey, vermouth, and bitters into a cold mixing vessel, add ice, and stir until cocktail is properly chilled and diluted. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with Luxardo or brandied cherry.
Red Hook
In the 2000s, there were a number of bartenders who created cocktails that were spins on the classic Brooklyn cocktail, which consisted of rye whiskey, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur and Amer Picon, a hard to find French apéritif. One of these variations, the Red Hook, caught my eye when I was behind the bar. I had seen a video where bartender Jamie Boudreau showed how to barrel-age this stirred cocktail. I was “hooked.” (Apologies to all.) Even though Boudreau might have been the first to barrel-age the Red Hook, it was originally created in 2003 by bartender, Vincenzo Errico at the Milk & Honey bar in New York City. The cocktail still uses rye whiskey and maraschino liqueur but incorporates the sweet vermouth Punt e Mes. This Italian vermouth translates to “point and a half” — one part sweet, one-half part bitter. That little bit of bitterness from the vermouth is exactly why using Punt e Mes is the perfect fit.
2 ounces rye whiskey
1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur
1/2 ounce Punt e Mes
Combine whiskey, maraschino liqueur and vermouth in a chilled mixing vessel. Add ice and stir until drink is chilled and diluted. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with maraschino cherry.
Negroni
Last but not least, we have the beloved negroni. This cocktail can be considered a cocktail and an apéritif. It’s lovely to enjoy right before dinner because it really does awaken your taste buds. At the same time, it’s perfectly fine to enjoy a negroni any time you feel like having a drink. The drink is easy to create — the first time I learned, it was 3/4 ounce (each) of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. Later I upped the amount of each ingredient to an ounce, and then began adding a bit more gin than the other two ingredients. I also rearranged the types of gin. For example, a London Dry like Beefeater’s is a great go-to because of the juniper and orange notes, but a Plymouth gin will make the cocktail more earthy and soft. Campari was always a staple but I could swap out several vermouths. One of my favorite vermouths to use is Carpano Antica — the vermouth my friend keeps forgetting. With its notes of orange and vanilla, it creates the perfect bridge between the higher proof gin and bitter Campari. If you’ve never tried a negroni, I implore you to.
1 1/4 ounces gin
3/4 ounce Campari
3/4 ounce Carpano Antica
You can create this cocktail three ways. The first is to build it in the glass you’ll be drinking from. To do this, simply combine all ingredients in a rocks glass, add ice, stir, and garnish with an orange slice. The second, is to put all the ingredients in a chilled mixing vessel, add ice, and then strain into a rocks glass over ice. Lastly, and this is done to completely control the dilution, repeat the second method but strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. If straining over ice in a rocks glass, garnish with an orange slice; if straining into a coupe, garnish with orange peel, expressing the oils over the cocktail before adding to the glass. PS
Tony Cross owns and operates Reverie Cocktails, a cocktail delivery service that delivers kegged cocktails for businesses to pour on tap — but once a bartender, always a bartender.