Red Vermouth

Red Vermouth

 

Red vermouth is just one of three different types of vermouth and can be used for cocktails or drink straight up. The cocktail really wasn’t defined until around 1806 as a “drink containing spirits.” Today, there are hundreds of different cocktails encompassing a variety of unusual names like Singapore Sling, Fuzzy Navel, and Hot Toddy just to name a few.

 

In the late 1700’s, Antonio Carpano from Turin, Italy, is credited with combining flavors to make what now is known as vermouth. For the red vermouth, the flavor is often sweet and aromatic. The combination of fortified wine, spices, herbs, and adding alcohol make this a very smooth satisfying drink. The blend of cardamom, cinnamon, marjoram and chamomile add the pleasant aroma to vermouth. Much like wines, vermouth is made either dry or sweet. In the 1800’s, vermouth was so popular it was found in almost all the cocktails and was considered by many as the drink of choice.

 

As the main ingredient for Red Martini’s, red vermouth is used for the sweetness and aroma making the drink very appealing. Today Carpano Antica Formula is the Italian red vermouth based on the original recipe. There are others manufacturing red vermouth such as Martini & Rossi and Noilly Prat but have added their own recipe deferring from the spices and herbs used by Carpano.

 

Red vermouth is used in cocktails such as the Americano and Red Martini but you will also find vermouth in many recipes like Bay Scallops Alla Veneziana, Chile Relleno Soup, and Chicken Breast with Herb Oil and Chicken Ragout. Numerous chefs regularly use vermouth to add a unique aroma as well as flavor to their cuisine.

You can say vermouth, whether red or white, is such a versatile type of wine; it can literally goes from the bar to the table pleasing all type of palates.