What is your vermouth brand of choice?

[Guttersnipe]

Tons of classic recipes call for vermouth.

After a (fairly) recent conversation with an acquaintance, who happens to be a mixologist par excellence it occurred to to me - or rather was suggested to me - that if you're going to the trouble of make a really classic drink, and using premium liquors, you you owe it to yourself (and the gods of indulgence) not to spoil the drink by using a sub-par vermouth.

I saw this thread (but it didn't really go in depth):
http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=40879&highlight=vermouth

So, what are everybody's favorite top-shelf French (dry) and Italian (sweet) vermouth brands?

 

[A.Blighty]

Have a bott. of dry Noilly Prat on standby for the Friday night Gibson. Can't comment on the recipe change, but it suits me well enough.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

For an Italian or Sweet Vermouth, do what ever it takes to get a bottle of Carpano Antica.......Incredible tasting!

 

[matei]

I'm partial to Martini Extra Dry... it has a clean, simple taste without being too overpowering.

 

[Guttersnipe]

For an Italian or Sweet Vermouth, do what ever it takes to get a bottle of Carpano Antica.......Incredible tasting!

Yeah, I've heard very good things about Carpano Antica. In fact that's the brand the master mixologist fellow I know uses. It's rather hard to get, though.

Have a bott. of dry Noilly Prat on standby for the Friday night Gibson. Can't comment on the recipe change, but it suits me well enough.

As far as recipe change goes, a friend of mine - who positively does not care for whiskey drinks - was absolutely delighted by a Manhattan when she tried one mixed with Capano Antica.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

For an Italian or Sweet Vermouth, do what ever it takes to get a bottle of Carpano Antica.......Incredible tasting!

I couldn't agree more.

For a dry vermouth I tend to use Noilly Prat.

Has anyone tried this??

 

[ladybrettashley]

Something about autumn turns me onto sweet vermouth, though i haven't had the chance to try much variety. I got a bottle of Noilly Prat recently, but i'm back to the Martini & Rossi again. The flavor of the Noilly Prat was good, perhaps better than the Martini, but i found it cloyingly sweet. It was also a bit too overpowering to mix with for my preference - made it awfully hard to taste the rum in my Jean Harlow =)

I'll have to keep an eye out for the Carpano Antica. And when it warms up, perhaps i'll work on getting more variety in my martinis as well; i've only ever had one sort of dry vermouth.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

The Carpano Antica is magnificent, even as a stand alone drink with a slice of orange.

I normally use it in a Herbsaint New Orleans Cocktail:

 

[Boodles]

Lillet Blanc

Which is probably only kinda-sorta vermouth but a little of it will not overpower the taste of your mega-chip gin, at least to my way of thinking.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Which is probably only kinda-sorta vermouth but a little of it will not overpower the taste of your mega-chip gin, at least to my way of thinking.

This indeed is rather good.
Many people seem to too-readily to smugly pronounce that Lillet is "not a Vermouth" but have yet to work out a precise distinction between the two, no-one I've spoken to seems to know why.
Lillet seems to fulfil the basic characteristics of Vermouth. Can anyone please shed any light on this question?

 

[Alex Oviatt]

Noilly Prat followed by Cinzano followed by Martini and Rossi--but that's just me..... Lillet is an excellent aperitif and a great alternative for dry vermouth.

 

[Alexi]

This indeed is rather good.
Many people seem to too-readily to smugly pronounce that Lillet is "not a Vermouth" but have yet to work out a precise distinction between the two, no-one I've spoken to seems to know why.
Lillet seems to fulfil the basic characteristics of Vermouth. Can anyone please shed any light on this question?

is it a wine containing wormwood? then it is a vermouth

 

[Guttersnipe]

I've been as equally confused by this...

This indeed is rather good.
Many people seem to too-readily to smugly pronounce that Lillet is "not a Vermouth" but have yet to work out a precise distinction between the two, no-one I've spoken to seems to know why.
Lillet seems to fulfil the basic characteristics of Vermouth. Can anyone please shed any light on this question?

Most spirit distributors have Lillet listed in search databases to come up in searches of the term 'vermouth.'

Lillet is made with citrus, whereas most vermouths are made with cardamom, cinnamon, marjoram and chamomile. Maybe that's why?

 

[Alex Oviatt]

Vermouth and Lillet are both fortified wines, of which there are many different varieties. Lillet is more like the aperitif Dubonnet because it doesn't have the ususal herbal flavorings that defines Vermouth and features orange instead. Great stuff, though, and like Vermouth (and Dubonnet) it comes in red (sweet) and white (dry). Bond's "Vesper" cocktail calls for Lillet instead of Vermouth.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

is it a wine containing wormwood? then it is a vermouth

It would be more accurate to say petite wormwood, or Artemesia Pontica, rather than Grand Wormwood. Which you do not want to taste undistilled, or macerated.

Ah the old days of Kina Lillet, Quinquina, etc.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I've just been reading "On Drink" by Kingsley Amis. It seem that he prefers Noilly Prat dry to drink on his own but not for Martinis.

 

[Boodles]

Lillet Blanc

I'm totally guilty of having first tried Lillet because of the reference made to it by Fleming. If it was good enough for Cmdr. Bond then I had to try it. That was years ago. Nowadays, I just like it.

In my earlier post I danced around calling it vermouth because the wine snobs at a nearby shop blasted me for referring to Lillet as vermouth (even though they stock it on the same shelf space with vermouth). Since I could not find the word Vermouth on the label I (sort-of) accepted their arguement. I just didn't have a dog in that fight.

Around my part of the world no bars seem to have Lillet on hand. I actually bought a bottle for one favorite joint which I frequent.

It is said that US Pres. Franklin Roosevelt was fond of a Brazilian vermouth in his martinis. I dunno if that is so or whether there is such a thing.

Vermouth and Lillet are both fortified wines, of which there are many different varieties. Lillet is more like the aperitif Dubonnet because it doesn't have the ususal herbal flavorings that defines Vermouth and features orange instead. Great stuff, though, and like Vermouth (and Dubonnet) it comes in red (sweet) and white (dry). Bond's "Vesper" cocktail calls for Lillet instead of Vermouth.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I'm totally guilty of having first tried Lillet because of the reference made to it by Fleming.

Nothing to feel guilty about. I had to go to the UK supplier for the same reason. before the film came out it was very tricky to get hold of.

In my earlier post I danced around calling it vermouth because the wine snobs at a nearby shop blasted me for referring to Lillet as vermouth lol. (laughing at wine snobs).

Some older drinks books which I have do refer to it as a vermouth. If you substitute Noilly Prat for the Lillet you get a similar result, in a Vesper anyway. Noilly Prat does also have orange peel in it but I'm not sure about the other herbs etc. in Lillet.

Thanks for all the feedback though, very interesting to hear people thoughts.

 

[Wally_Hood]

There was a local Italian restaurant (alas, gone now) that used to serve a smaller-than-a-shot-glass glass of vermouth with the dinner. The waiter would refill it as the evening wore on. It was sweet, for sure, and something very enjoyable to sip between courses.

 

[Tomasso]

No, have you? It's not widely available outside of the Noilly Prat cellars in Marseillan, apparently.

Has anyone tried this??