Vermouth, for many, means the spiced, syrupy stuff that comes in green glass bottles, and takes up too much real estate in bad negronis, Manhattans, and martinis. On his secret recipe for a stellar gin martini, Sir Winston Churchill famously said, “Glance at the vermouth bottle briefly while pouring the juniper distillate freely.”
The perception that vermouth is headache-inducingly sweet—or just plain bad—isn’t totally unfounded or wrong. Historically, vermouth was made with sweetened not-up-to-snuff white wine, infused with botanicals (sometimes as many as 50) and fortified with brandy to disguise its aforementioned not-up-to-snuffness. That heady aroma and sweetness unique to a vermouth distinctly “adds dimension, accentuates the flavors of the base liquor, and lowers alcohol content for stronger-spirit-spirit drinks,” food writer Meaghen Hale explains.
from Food52 https://ift.tt/2wP6YC9
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