Vermouth, the perfect drink for summer! Taste 4 vermouths Weds., 7/31, 5-7pm (complimentary).
Taste four vermouths in-store on Wednesday, July 31, 5-7pm (complimentary). For next week’s tasting, we will also be featuring a live in-store performance by local singer-songwriter Lucas Wolf (photo below)! It’s part of our ongoing partnership with Stone Cottage Studios, a collective of Colorado-based musicians.
As summer continues to cook us all, we’ve been cooling off with vermouth — a libation that’s often overlooked. Their rich, complex flavors hold our interest when served over a single large ice cube and garnished with a green olive or mixed with club soda and an orange slice for an instant spritzer.
Vermouths are white or red aromatized wines that offer a delightful blend of sweetness, bitterness, and herbal complexity. Each one is unique with distinctive flavors influenced by local botanicals and production methods.
Vermouth was invented in northern Italy in 1786 when Carpano introduced the first sweet red vermouth. Since then, a multitude of iterations were concocted in France, Spain, and the U.S. We believe there is a vermouth to suit every palate.
Once opened, store your vermouth upright in the refrigerator to maintain its vibrant flavors for up to a month.
Here is a handful of our favorites, each fabulous in its own way (click links to order):
Tsutsumi Oka Bermutto (Japan):
An especially delicate white vermouth made from a sake base and local botanicals. It offers a subtle sweetness balanced by gentle bitterness with notes of yuzu and sansho pepper.
Crafted in the Basque country from a base of Txacolina white wine. It is light-bodied with flavors of Mediterranean herbs.
Created in 1786 by Antonio Carpano in Turin, this vermouth is considered the original commercial vermouth. You will find it to be medium-boded and complex, with a perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness. Look for cocoa, saffron, and plenty of dried fruits.
A bolder recipe crafted by Carpano. Since it is distinctively bittersweet and darker darker than most red vermouths, it stands up well in a range of cocktails. Punt e Mes offers rich flavor with herbs, spices, and orange peel. Its noticeable quinine bitterness is balanced by caramel sweetness.
We love to geek out over this craft vermouth from an Italian distillery in Friuli. It is aromatic, detailed and layered with a blend of Alpine and Mediterranean herbs.
Made by Emilio Lustau, a renowned sherry producer in Jerez with over a century of winemaking tradition. The base for this Vermouth is their famed “Los Arcos” Amontillado Sherry, so it is especially unique and complex. As an added perk, this Vermouth won’t spoil quickly. It is rich and bold with notes of sherry, nuts, raisins, and warm spices.
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Wine Wednesday
July 31, 5-7pm
complimentary
Join us to sample an array of vermouths, neat and as spritzers.
1. Tsutsumi Oka Bermutto, Japan $27.98
2. Txurrut Vermut, Spain $25.98
3. Carpano “Punt e Mes” Vermouth, Italy $25.98
4. Lustau Rojo Vermut, Spain $19.99
