Food & Wine USA - (11)November 2018

22 NOVEMBER 2018

OB

SESSIONS

Vermouth Visions Bartenders are brewing up

homemade vermouth—with delicious results.

TRENDSPOTTING

ZACHARY CORDASCI STOOD OVER A POT, calling out ingre-

dients as he dumped them in: “Two bottles of Piquepoul, 4

grams of dandelion root, 3 grams juniper and wintergreen

each, 20 grams lemon peel, and 50 grams basil, leaves and

stems.” Cordasci wasn’t exactly cooking. he head bar-

tender at Brooklyn’s Gristmill was making vermouth. After

aging the infusion a few days and fortifying it with high-

proof spirit, he’d have an herbaceous elixir that would go

great in a gingery drink or a snap pea–gin cocktail.

his is happening all over the country: Bartenders are

jazzing up white and red wines to yield vibrant bespoke

Rob Rye

TOTAL 5 MIN; SERVES 1

At San Francisco’s Linden

Room, Ron Boyd spiffs up this

classic drink with his own

coriander-laced Seville orange

vermouth. Carpano Antica

Formula makes an easy and

delicious substitution, though.

1 /^4 cup (2 oz.) Rittenhouse

Rye whiskey or other

100-proof rye whiskey

11 /^2 Tbsp. (^3 /^4 oz.) Carpano

Antica Formula

vermouth

1 / 2 Tbsp. (^1 / 4 oz.) Cointreau

3 dashes Scrappy’s Black

Lemon Bitters or orange

bitters

1 lemon peel strip

1 Luxardo maraschino

cherry

Pour rye, vermouth, Coin-

treau, and bitters into a mix-

ing glass; fill with ice. Using a

bar spoon, stir until outside of

glass is frosty, about 30 sec-

onds. Strain into a coupe

glass or cocktail glass. Twist

lemon peel strip over cocktail

to express lemon oil onto sur-

face. Rub inside lip of glass

with lemon twist, and add to

cocktail with cherry.

Vermouths to Buy

Artisanal vermouth isn’t

limited to homemade.

Try these three. R AY ISLE

2015 MASSICAN VERMOUTH DI

FRIULANO ($20) California

winemaker Dan Petroski invokes

18th-century Italian vermouths for

this aromatic elixir. Serve it on ice.

MATTHIASSON NO. 3 NAPA VALLEY

SWEET VERMOUTH ($35) This fruit-

centric version utilizes blood oranges

and cinchona bark, among other

ingredients. Try it in a Manhattan.

UNCOUTH VERMOUTH BUTTERNUT

SQUASH ($35) Bianca Miraglia’s

esoteric handcrafted vermouths defy

expectations. To wit: this squash-

based bottling is floral and delicate.

versions of the classic aromatized sidekick. A fruity,

funky sweet vermouth lends licorice notes to the

Negroni at Los Angeles’ Honeycut; at San Francisco’s

Linden Room, Ron Boyd creates a floral white one

with chamomile, dried artichokes, and coriander.

Given the beauty these housemade vermouths add

to the glass, the love is coming right back from

drinkers. “People really enjoy hearing the story of

how our vermouths are made,” says Boyd. “And the

recipes give us a specific style that you can’t taste

anywhere else.” BETSY ANDREWS

WANT TO DIY

VERMOUTH?

Visit foodandwine.

com/vermouth_

recipe.