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A vermouth renaissance is sweeping the world as drinkers and bartenders embrace aperitif culture

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Aperitifs are a major part of European culture, particularly in Barcelona.

VERMOUTH!ermouth – wine infused with

botanicals – has long been one of the world’s most versatile cocktail ingredients. In fact, you’d be hard-

pressed to make a negroni, martini or manhattan without it.

But there’s another side to this aromatised wine. In Spain, it’s drunk neat or on the rocks with an olive and a wedge of orange. Wander the streets of Barcelona and you’ll find bodegas serving vermouth on tap (presented unceremoniously alongside a wicker basket of potato chips) and modern cocktail bars adding their own individual twists (the award-winning Morro Fi even makes its own vermouth and cans its own conservas).

It was a Spaniard’s passion for aperitifs that inspired Melbourne locals Gilles Lapalus and Shaun Byrne to write The Book of Vermouth – they discovered François Monti’s legendary text, El Gran Libro del Vermut, but it was only available in Spanish. Instead of translating it, Lapalus and Byrne decided to write their own.

Their recently released publication contains everything you could ever want to know, from the history of the drink to some top notch cocktail

V recipes, and even tips on how to forage your own wormwood – the key botanical in vermouth – if you fancy making your own.

Lapalus, a winemaker, and Byrne, a bartender, are more than qualified to write such a text – they’re also responsible for Maidenii, one of the first Australian-made, native botanical-led vermouth brands.

Their award-winning range runs the spectrum from dry to sweet, and they’ve also released an amaro, a spritz and a dry white wine. They also make custom bottles for bars and restaurants such as Sydney’s Billy Kwong (using Chinese spices and plants) and Dunkeld’s Royal Mail Hotel (with local saltbush, dandelion and lemon thyme).

“There’s a huge range of vermouths available now,” says Lapalus. “But it was only six or seven years ago that we started to see a new style of vermouth from smaller, artisanal producers.”

He says vermouth is a great way to bring a lot of flavour to the table without a lot of alcohol, but if you’re going to buy a bottle, make sure you store it correctly. “Most vermouth is made from wine, so it can react to oxygen and deteriorate

VIVA

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Styles of vermouth The flavour, colour and sweetness of vermouth will vary depending on what botanicals are used and where it is made – Spanish vermouth is often sweeter than French, and Australian vermouths tend to favour local botanicals, for example.

Bianco

TRY Karven Vermouth Bianco (New Zealand) in a dry gin martini.

Dry

TRY Regal Rogue Daring Dry (Australia) with tonic water and a sprig of thyme.

TRY Casa Mariol Vermut Negre (Spain) on the rocks with a wedge of orange.

Black

Rosso

TRY Maidenii Sweet Vermouth (Australia) in a manhattan or a negroni.

Dry vermouths are light and savoury, with earthy characters.

Bianco vermouths have a slight cordial-like sweetness and plenty of floral notes.

Rosso vermouths are rich and intense, making them a great cocktail ingredient.

Black vermouths are usually heavily spiced and can have herbaceous, cola-like flavours.

Keen to conjure up a fresh and summery vermouth cocktail? Head to Mercedes-Benz Owners Online for an exclusive recipe from the book: owners.mercedes-benz.com.auowners.mercedes-benz.co.nz

The Book Of Vermouth by Shaun Byrne and Gilles Lapalus Published by Hardie Grant BooksRRP A$39.99

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quickly,” he explains. “Keep it in the fridge – it’ll last maybe a month once it’s open.”

A changing cocktail cultureVermouth has been riding on the coat-tails of the ‘session cocktail’ movement that’s put aperitifs in the spotlight for the past few years – drinkers want options that are refreshing and delicious, yet lower in alcohol, and vermouth fits the bill.

Sommelier Rebecca Lines and chef Hamish Ingham opened their slick 200-seat vermouth bar and bistro Banksii, in Sydney’s Barangaroo, in late 2016.

“I think for years too many people were looking at vermouth like it was a spirit,” says Lines, “but it’s not a spirit, it’s a wine, and the history of it is that it’s really an aperitif. You can turn it into a cocktail or make a V&T [vermouth and tonic], which is a much lower alcohol version than a G&T.”

The drinks list at Banksii favours boutique Australian brands, and serving suggestions range from entry level (rosso and soda) to advanced (a reverse manhattan made with Cocchi Torino, straight rye whiskey and bitters).

“Vermouth really stands alone,” says Lines. “It’s very complete, it’s a little sweet, a little bitter and can be simple or complex – and it’s lower in alcohol than a spirit. A lot of people are looking for that nowadays.”

Local flavourIn New Zealand, a country already producing excellent craft gins and tonics from local, native

Where to drink vermouth

Bomba Tapas Bar and Rooftop, MelbourneFresh from a four-month-long facelift (which nearly doubled the size of the venue), Bomba’s double-terraced rooftop bar sits five floors up, overlooking leafy Lonsdale Street and surrounds. Head in for a host of Spanish snacks and a vermouth-driven drinks list, including the ‘negronita’, made from house gin, vermouth and bitter orange.

Bar Rochford, CanberraWhen Nick Smith opened Bar Rochford in March of 2016, he introduced the locals to vermouth by giving it away (a seat at the bar would automatically net you a Casa Mariol Vermut Negre on the rocks). These days, his list sports 12 or so bottles from the big players (think Cocchi and Antica Formula) and smaller boutique brands, including Canberra’s own Outlandish Claims vermouth, made by local winemaker Bryan Martin.

Banksii Vermouth Bar and Bistro, SydneyThis is Australia’s pre-eminent vermouth bar and eatery, with more than 40 bottles of local and international vermouth on shelf, backed up by a strong selection of craft spirits and a cocktail list that favours aperitif-of -the-moment: the spritz. Stay for dinner – chef Hamish Ingham’s menu is built around the same botanicals used for vermouth.

Raes on Wategos, Byron Bay Luxury beachside resort Raes on Wategos transformed its wine cellar into a relaxed cocktail bar earlier this year and the spotlight is on vermouth, with Ed Loveday of craft producer Regal Rogue consulting on the drinks list. They stock the full range from the New World vermouth producer; check out ‘the olsen’: Regal Rogue Lively White vermouth, grapefruit syrup and soda.

botanicals, it’s no surprise distillers are turning their hand to vermouth.

Auckland-based Stephen Menzies, who also makes dry gin and aged vodka, released his first vermouth – a semi-dry bianco style – in mid-2016, back when “bartenders weren’t really serving it yet, but they were drinking it”.

“We spent a lot of time talking with restaurants and mixologists, and we’d often end up talking about vermouth and how there was none [produced locally],” says the director of Karven Craft Distiller.

Two years in, and Menzies is making handcrafted Karven Bianco (white) and Karven Rosso (red) vermouths in what he calls a “natural evolution”. “Vermouth and gin do partner up well,” he says.

Some vermouth producers really focus on the wine, but for Menzies it’s not as important as the top-secret local botanicals. “We use a complex botanical formation. It gets tricky from batch to batch – it’s naturally variable,” he says of the Karven Bianco, which right now is made with a sauvignon blanc base and tastes faintly of honey, lemon and peach, without not being overly sweet.

“Drink it in cocktails, neat or on the rocks – you can even cook with it,” says Menzies. In fact, throw it together with his New Zealand dry gin and you’ve got yourself a 100 per cent Kiwi martini.

Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd at all times promotes the responsible service and consumption of alcohol.

A Melbourne Fruit Cup from The Book of Vermouth.

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