The classic cocktail revival is in full swing these days, and it’s bringing vermouth back with it. For cocktail lovers, this is a very good thing.

自19世纪后期鸡尾酒时代即将到来以来，苦艾酒一直是主食。在鼎盛时期，较低的苦艾酒在杜松子酒和威士忌等强烈的精神中扮演了流行的辅助角色。经典的马提尼（Martini）（杜松子酒，干苦艾酒和苦味）和曼哈顿（威士忌，甜苦艾酒和苦味）是完美的例子。

Vermouth, with its delicate herbal flavors, takes the boozy edge off the gin and softens the whiskey in these cocktails, and does so without changing the drink’s structure too much (which can easily happen when you add juices or liqueurs). It dresses up the star spirit without overwhelming it. In short, it’s the perfect co-star.

Vermouth, defined

但是苦艾酒到底是什么？这是一种含有花园的植物，树皮和草药的葡萄酒（例如Marjoram，Mace，Mace，Orange Peel和Wormwood或Wormwood或wermut在德语中，苦艾酒的名字）。然后将这种芳香的葡萄酒加固（意味着将额外的酒精添加到其中），并带有中性葡萄烈酒。最终的饮料是平衡且复杂的，口味从甜到草药到苦味不等。

There are two basic vermouth styles: dry and white, or French; and sweet and red, or Italian. The geographic reference indicates the style of the vermouth. And while both styles are made from white wines, sweet vermouth gets its dark red hue from the addition of caramel.

As a general rule (and every rule has its exceptions), sweet vermouths, which are more full-bodied, sweeter, and more bitter, hold their own against brawny, aged spirits like whiskey and brandy. Softer dry vermouths are more delicate and enhance the botanicals of white spirits like gin and white tequilas or rums.

The back story

In the late 18th century, in the former kingdom of Savoy (today’s northern Italy and parts of southern and eastern France), a few clever entrepreneurs began enhancing not-so-great local wines with herbs and spices and fortifying the wine with more alcohol to preserve it. Vermouth was born.

商业生产始于1786年，当时意大利都灵的酿酒厂的安东尼奥·贝内德托·卡珀诺（Antonio Benedetto Carpano）开始出售他的苦艾酒版本。大多数人都喜欢它作为Apéritif，这是一种欧洲的传统，一直持续到今天。1863年，马提尼族和罗西（今天的泰坦苦艾酒生产商）带着自己的甜美苦艾酒（也都在都灵。

Joseph Noilly developed his dry French-style vermouth in 1813 in Marseillan, France. Over the next 40 years, Joseph’s son, Louis, and his brother-in-law, Claudius Prat, got involved in what grew to become a global business, today’s Noilly Prat.

A co-star is reborn

鉴于苦艾酒在美国鸡尾酒历史的早期，它的富裕而数百年的欧洲遗产及其主要的主要作品，但它令人震惊，令人震惊的是，过去几十年来一直被忽视和忽视，滥用和误解。您可能会说，这始于温斯顿·丘吉尔（Winston Churchill），他像传说一样，认为只能在制作杜松子酒马丁尼（Martini）（而不是实际上将苦艾酒添加到他的玻璃杯中）时，就足够了。然后，1990年代袭击了这一十年对Bland Vodka鸡尾酒的不受约束的热情。苦艾酒具有诱人的芳香剂，过于强大。到处都有尘土聚集在Noilly Prat和Martini＆Rossi的瓶子上。

But all that’s changing. The classic cocktail renaissance has moved from speakeasy-style bars in bigger cities to living rooms across the nation, thanks in no small part to the relentless popularity of television’sMad Men。People are mixing martinis and Manhattans with ice-jangling fervor and learning to appreciate vermouth’s complexity.

So for your next 5 o’clock cocktail, try mixing an iconicManhattan, in which vermouth’s sweetness tames rye whiskey’s bite. Or use dry vermouth to bring out the aromatics of your favorite gin in a crisp, coldmartini。要么是鸡尾酒世界最喜欢的联合主演的合适展示柜。

Vermouth Know-How

购买
If you don’t mix martinis nightly and aren’t planning a party for this weekend, it’s best to buy the smallest bottle of vermouth you can find, since the wine will eventually oxidize after opening.

存储
Keep open bottles in the refrigerator, and try to drink the vermouth within six weeks for optimal flavor and aroma.

Serving
Vermouth is a great mixer, but to best appreciate its distinctive flavor, drink it straight up, chilled, in a wine glass.