

In truth, the ancient and traditional drink has received a fresh lease on life due to the recent emergence of cocktail culture. The former two (Dubbonet and Byrrh) use bitter quinine as a core ingredient and the latter two are known for using Cognac and Armagnac (Pineau de Charentes and Floc de Gascogne respectively) as the alcohol addition.Regardless of whether you choose a martini or a Negroni, you won’t get very far without excellent vermouth. These mistelle-based aperitifs include Dubbonet, Byrrh, Pineau de Charentes and Floc de Gascogne. In case you missed it above, a mistelle is a fresh grape juice that is fortified by adding alcohol. Where vermouth consists primarily of aromatized fermented wine there is another style called “wine-based aperitifs” which use a mistelle as the base ingredient. Chambéry is known for the brands Dolin and Routin. Beyond Italy, across the border in France other brands emerged, including the dry style Noilly Prat from the Languedoc and in Savoie a designated vermouth appellation called Chambéry was officiated in 1932. With Carpano’s success, a milieu of brands emerged including Martini, Cinzano and Gancia.
#Sweet vermouth plus
They produce several types of vermouth, including Carpano Antica, made according to the recipe from 1786, and the even more popular Punt e Mes, which is a vermouth plus bitters. Sadly, the Piazza Castello was destroyed during World War II in 1943, however today the brand, Carpano, still exists. It became a famous meeting spot for both artists and politicians. When Carpano’s nephew (Giuseppe Bernardino Carpano) inherited the bar, he officially branded the beverage and the bar, which was located in the Piazza Castello. The vermouth was made with white wine (with moscato grapes) and a blend of 30 or so botanicals and the bar (and the drink) was extremely popular with women.

His assistant (and eventual successor) Antonio Benedetto Carpano concocted a new blend he called vermouth in 1786. In the late 1700’s a gentleman by the name of Luigi Marendazzo started a distillery and elegant bar offering aromatized wines. Punt E Mes or “one and a half” is the blend of vermouth to bitters in the most popular Carpano product today. At this point however, vermouth was an uncommon name for the drink and there were no major brands. The center of wormwood production in the 1500’s was in Turin (Torino) and wines were commonly aromatized, not only with wormwood (which has a distinct herbal leafy/flowery aroma), but with other foraged herbs. Wormwood was taken to refill the “yellow bile” or “choleric” humor which controls characteristics like ambition, leadership, restlessness, and irritability. It was thought that an imbalance of the bodies four humors (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood) could be balanced with medicine. Wormwood has been used as a medicinal herb for many centuries. The 4 humors: Phlegmatic (phlegm), Choleric (yellow bile), Sanguine (blood), melancholic (black bile) on wikimedia A little History
