Vermouth Cocktails
A few years back, vermouth—an aromatized, fortified wine—held little sway over American drinkers. Today, there's a whole new crop of the fortified wine debuting in the U.S.—and bartenders are taking notice. The vermouths now available offer a range of complex flavors, as perfect for classic drinks as they are for brand-new creations. Read more about vermouth »
This refreshing amaro-and-vermouth-based cocktail—a twist on the classic Americano—from New York City’s Amor y Amargo offers big notes of orange, cinnamon, and pine, with a touch of anise from a couple dashes of absinthe. We love Imbue Petal & Thorn vermouth for its bold, citrusy flavor, but you can substitute any other sweet vermouth. See the recipe for the American »
At the vermouth-focused bar Amor y Amargo in New York City, cognac, apple brandy, and an apple-mint vermouth are combined for a decidedly autumnal cocktail. Becherovka, a spicy, bittersweet Czech liqueur, lends a complex herbal flavor; dashes of apple bitters amp up the fruit aromatics. See the recipe for the Apple Barrel »
Adonis
Vermouth hasn’t always played second fiddle to boozier spirits. In this elegant, low-alcohol drink from the early 1900s, a simple but fragrant mix of fino sherry, sweet vermouth, and orange bitters spotlights the fortified wine. The name comes from a popular 1884 Broadway musical of the same name. Any high-quality sweet vermouth will do, although we love Interrobang for its notes of bitter orange and baking spices. See the recipe for the Adonis »
A housemade amber vermouth flavored with juniper and cardamom is the base for this gutsy drink from Manhattan’s Amor y Amargo, which opened in 2011 with vermouth on tap and more than 12 bottled varieties. Cardoon-flavored Cardamaro and dry gin play off the vermouth’s botanical notes, while celery bitters boosts the drink’s herbaceousness. See the recipe for the Brother James »
Vermouth Panaché
Both sweet and dry vermouths are made from a white wine base flavored with various botanicals; dry styles are typically macerated with bright-tasting ingredients like lemon and chamomile, while sweet versions are mixed with caramel and showcase warmer spices. This simple mix of the two, adapted from a recipe in Philip Greene’s To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion (Perigee Trade, 2012), was a favorite drink of Ernest Hemingway. See the recipe for Vermouth Panache »
Vialiere
Vermouth maker Karl Weichold created this riff on the classic Boulevardier with his own Interrobang vermouth, a sweet style suffused with bitter orange and baking spices. He substitutes the artichoke-based amaro Cynar for Campari, creating a heady, bone-warming cocktail that’s great to sip in fall and winter.
The Manhattan was originally vermouth dominant: two parts vermouth to one part rye whiskey. By the end of World War II, as the quality of American-made spirits improved, it became less necessary to dilute the burn of harsh liquors, and vermouth ratios plummeted, propelled by a fashionable disdain for the light, spiced wine. In this throwback version of the drink, an assertive sweet vermouth—we like Imbue Petal & Thorn—adds a citrusy, herbal flavor. See the recipe for Reverse Manhattan »
This light, elegant quaff was created for international dignitaries in the 1890s, at the iconic Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan. Made with a base of vermouth and fino sherry brightened by orange and Angostura bitters, it’s low in alcohol, making it a perfect before-dinner drink. See the recipe for Bamboo Cocktail »
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