by Jay Erisman, EQ Wine and Spirits Manager

The introduction of vermouth to America in the 1870s was a seminal moment in the development of the cocktail. Bartenders had a new toy to play with, and in short order had invented a host of classic cocktails that are still drunk today. As I’ve noted here before, vermouth is back, baby, with a vengeance. Mixologists amateur and professional alike are rediscovering the supple, mouthwatering glory of dry and sweet vermouth. And happily, we have some new firepower, with new vermouths landing from France, including the new/old Noilly Prat and Dolin, perhaps the best of them all. What to do with this herbaceous wine?

Vermouth de Chambéry is the aristocrat of French Vermouth.

Noilly Prat made waves earlier this year when they reintroduced their original formula dry vermouth to America. It turns out the Noilly dry sold here for so long was different from that sold in Europe, with generally less flavor and a milder character. Many American martini drinkers put a few mere drops of vermouth (or perhaps, following the tradition of Winston Churchill, they glance in the direction of France) in their cocktail, or worse, drink a glass of straight cold gin and call it a martini. I’m sorry, I love gin, and that may be a tasting drink, but that’s no martini. A martini, I believe, should have a touch of vermouth, not too much but a balance between the gin and the wine.  ratio of 6:1 down to maybe 3:1 gin to vermouth gets you in the ballpark. If you could have a martini in 1909, it would have a healthy splash of vermouth, and a dash of bitters as well.

And that’s where this new Noilly shines. It has tons more flavor, more subtle herbal character, more complexity than the old Americn-issue white label. If the new Noilly requires a careful touch with a gin martini, it is also vastly improved for any other cocktail, and especially in a Noilly-on-the-rocks aperitif. Deelish!

But if the new/old Noilly is a breath of fresh air, the other new vermouth in town ranks as a cult classic among cocktailian types. For years our shaker customers have been begging for Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry, and now it is here. Vermouth de Chambéry is the only AOC-status vermouth in France, which means it is honored with and protected by the same legal statutes that watch over Champagne and Bordeaux. Simply put, Chambéry is the best vermouth, bar none, with special access to the alpine herbs that flavor it . The house of Dolin is the last producer in Chambéry, and one of the few independent producers of vermouth. In our tastings of dry Dolin against the new and old Noilly, the Dolin comes out on top with an ineffable balance and clean, pure flavor. The Noilly is a bit more floral, and if you miss the old Noilly in you martini, I think you’ll love the crisp herbaceousness of Dolin.

Dolin Dry, Blanc, and Sweet Vermouth

Here’s an old chestnut of a cocktail, perhaps the precursor to the martini but, moreover, the close cousin to the Manhattan. The Martinez cocktail is a celebration of gin and vermouth, rather like a “perfect” Manhattan (i.e. using equal parts sweet and dry vermouth) made with gin instead of whiskey. Try different bitters, such as Angostura, Fee Brothers, or Regans orange in your Martinez.

The Martinez

1.5 oz dry gin such as Hendrick’s

.25 oz Dolin sweet vermouth

.25 oz Dolin dry vermouth

1-2 dashes bitters

Stir 30 seconds with ice, and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with one Italian marasca cherry such as Luxardo.

Tags: bartending, cocktail, gin, mixology, vermouth, wine

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 1:35 pm and is filed under spirit, wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.