Cooking with Herbs/Spices

Lesson 7: Beverages

Aperitifs

An “aperitif” is a wine-based beverage drunk before dinner – a drink designed to stimulate the appetite. Aperitifs flavored with herbs are called, generically, “vermouths” although some are better known by their individual names.

All vermouth is white wine flavored with a combination of up to 200 different botanicals, e.g. herbs, spices, fruits, flowers. Caramel is added to make sweet, red vermouth. These additives are infused, macerated, or distilled in a base white wine. Vermouth is inexpensive as the base wine needs to be neutral and can be mass-produced. The liquid is filtered, pasteurized, and fortified, i.e. additional alcohol is added so vermouth is more alcoholic than wine. Vermouth’s alcohol level is 16% for dry vermouth and 18% for sweet vermouth.

Like tisanes, vermouth was invented to be used medicinally. Its original primary ingredient was wormwood - the name “vermouth” is derived from “vermut” which is German for wormwood. Wormwood is a plant with powerful medicinal and psychoactive qualities and was used to cure stomach problems, including intestinal worms. Wormwood, however, is a very bitter plant. Wormwood as an ingredient was eventually outlawed due to its mind-bending properties, but vermouth today is still characterized by a bitter undertone moderated by the botanicals.

The Italians first developed a taste for vermouth as an aperitif. The first aperitif formulation, sweet red vermouth, was created in Turin in the 1700’s. The French were not far behind, developing a dry version later that century. Traditionally, Italian vermouth is supposed to be sweet and French vermouth to be dry; however both countries now produce both sweet and dry vermouths. The three most common categories are white (dry), bianco (white and slightly sweet), and red (sweet) vermouth.

Each manufacturer uses a proprietary formula, so brands taste differently. Generally, Italian vermouths tend to be stronger, e.g. more bitter and spicy, and their sweet vermouths have strong caramel overtones. Martini & Rossi’s extra dry vermouth is the bartender’s favorite to flavor a martini – just a little is strong enough to stand up to the juniper flavor of gin. French vermouths are subtler, and rely as much on aroma as taste for their flavor impact. For that reason, when I use vermouth in cooking, I prefer the French brands.

Some specific vermouth formulas with a good following in the U.S. are not sold under the name vermouth, but rather under special names, e.g. DuBonnet, Lillet, Campari, Punt e Mes, and Cynar.

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