| Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored with aromatic herbs and spices ("aromatized" in the trade) in recipes that are closely-guarded trade secrets. The inventor of vermouth, Antonio Benedetto Carpano from Turin, Italy, chose this name in 1786 because he was inspired by a German wine fortified with wormwood, a herb most famously used in distilling absinthe. The modern German word Wermut means both wormwood and vermouth. The herbs were originally used to mask raw flavors of cheap wine, imparting a slightly medicinal "tonic" flavor.
There are three general styles of vermouth, in order from driest to sweetest: dry, sweet/red, and bianco/white. Sweet red vermouth is drunk as an apéritif, often straight up, as well as in mixed drinks like the Manhattan. Dry white vermouth, along with gin or vodka, is a key ingredient in the mixing of martinis, in proportions that may account for the lackluster sales of dry white vermouths. Red vermouths are sometimes referred to as Italian vermouths and white vermouths as French vermouths, although not all Italian vermouths are red and not all white vermouths are French. The best-selling specialist makers of vermouth exported internationally include: • Martini & Rossi (Italy) • Cinzano (Italy) • Noilly Prat (France) • Distillerie Stock (Italy) • Dubonnet (France) • Bartissol (Italy) |
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