Absinthe Blog

Vermouth is actually a type of fortified wine that has been flavored with various types of aromatic herbs and spices according to a guarded trade secret. Vermouth comes in sweetened and unsweetened varieties, with the unsweetened type being commonly referred to as “dry”.

It was a man by the name of Antonio Carpano who is credited with creating the first vermouth recipe in 1786 and he decided on the name “vermouth” because he was attempting to emulate a type of German wine that was flavored at the time with the wormwood herb.

At that time, the common German pronunciation for wormwood was “wermuth” and it was also the same pronunciation for his new product. In Antonio Carponos time, due to the lack of modern medicine there were a variety of tonics that were available and in fact it is speculated that this is what vermouth was first marketed as due to its bitter flavor that was required of any tonic of that period.

In general, there are three accepted styles of modern vermouth ranging from “dry white”, “extra dry white” and “sweet red”. The red sweet variety of vermouth is occasionally drank straight up as well as being used in mixed drinks and most notably the Manhattan martini with the dry white type of vermouth being commonly used in standard vodka and gin martinis.

It is also common to hear red vermouths being referred to as Italian vermouths and white vermouths being referred to as French vermouths however; not all French vermouths are white and neither are all Italian vermouths red.

One thing to remember is that vermouth is not a liquor but rather is a wine and this means that it should be stored as such. An unopened bottle of vermouth should always be stored on its side and an opened bottle of vermouth should always be kept refrigerated.