Many of you have probably heard many times about such a fortified drink with the addition of fruits or berries, like vermouth. In ancient times, it was much more popular than wine. Historians say that Hippocrates himself in the fifth century BC did not deny himself the pleasure of enjoying the taste of this drink.
Today, according to many experts, he is completely undeservedly forgotten. Equating vermouth with cheap wine is utter madness. This is a noble drink, and it certainly deserves attention.
Varieties of Vermouth
It seems to many that Vermouth-based cocktails are a purely feminine drink. In fact, this is far from the case. Of course, if a cocktail is made from Bianco vermouth, then it will be sweet, even cloying and may well be considered a female drink.
But in the world there are, in addition to Bianco, four more main types of this drink. The lowest sugar content in Secco vermouth (about four percent). This is dry vermouth, which is often used for "diet" low-calorie cocktails. But Rose or Rosso (pink and red) vermouth more sweet. In them, the percentage of sugar varies from ten to fifteen.
The fifth type of vermouth is rare in our country and costs a lot. This is Bitter - a classic vermouth with low sugar, but a large variety of herbs in the infusion.
Vermouth cocktails
If initially this drink was made only from white grape varieties, then from 1786 red varieties began to be used for production. The basis of any vermouth is a special infusion. It can be based on herbs, flowers, berries, fruits, seeds and even roots.
It is due to the presence of herbal or fruit infusions that a vermouth cocktail has such a delicate taste and rich aroma. Drinks are many-sided due to the variety of infusions from which this or that type of vermouth is made.
Many people think that the preparation of such drinks is the business of professional bartenders. But in fact, an aperitif from Vermouth can be made at home, with your own hands in your own kitchen. We offer you to prepare a variety of cocktails with vermouth. Recipes will be detailed and as simple as possible.
Apple Martini
This is perhaps the most popular cocktail with vermouth. It has a fairly pronounced apple tint and quite strong in taste. To prepare it you need:
- 10 grams of dry gin.
- 40 grams of any apple liquor.
- 40 grams of dry vermouth.
- Ice and a few apple slices for decoration.
How to cook
For starters, mix gin with apple liqueur. Then vermouth is added to them. We fill the glass with ice cubes and gradually add the drink there. Mix thoroughly again. Decorate with a slice of apple.
Classic martini
Who hasn't watched James Bond movies or at least not heard of them! Yes, there are probably no such people in the world. It was they who perpetuated the classic martini and “tied” it to the basic attributes of a luxurious rich life. Classic cocktails with vermouth at home can be prepared according to various recipes.
If we talk about the classics, then the recipe contains only vermouth and gin. Drinks are mixed in one glass with the addition of ice and poured into special glasses. If desired, add a few green olives, pickled onions or chopped lemon zest.
Dry vermouth with vodka
Dry vermouth can be used not only for making a classic cocktail. Very often it is combined with vodka, gin or whiskey. The drink itself is quite low-alcohol and low-calorie, so you can safely add it to the stronger ingredients of cocktails.
Very popular in bars and restaurants is a cocktail with vermouth, vodka and orange juice. For preparation, you should take one part of vodka, two parts of dry vermouth and one part of orange juice. If you want a stronger drink, replace the juice with orange liquor. In the mixing glass, first add ice, then the components. Mix thoroughly and pour into tall cocktail glasses.
It is important to remember that a cocktail (vermouth with vodka) will be strong enough. In order to slightly reduce the strength of the drink, add more ice or juice. You can decorate a glass with a beautifully sliced orange zest or a whole piece of fruit.
Vermouth cocktail "Bianco"
As we have noted, cocktails with Bianco vermouth are often referred to as women's drinks because of its sweetness. If representatives of the opposite sex are present in your company, then at home you can easily and quickly prepare a delicious drink for beautiful ladies. It will consist of 100 ml of Bianco vermouth, 80 grams of tonic, 20-30 grams of chopped lime (can be replaced with juice), 30 ml of whiskey (if the young ladies prefer sweet but strong drinks) and ice.
This vermouth cocktail is good in that it takes a couple of minutes to make. There are no complicated manipulations or a certain sequence of adding ingredients here. Just take a shaker, mix everything, add some ice and pour into a glass. We decorate, as you already understood, with a slice of lime.
Bitter Vermouth Cocktail
If you managed to find vermouth of this rare species in the store, then you can make a wonderful cocktail with it. You will need a lemon “Bitter” (one part) and two parts of a sweet “Bianco”. Mix in a shaker, add a little lemon or orange juice (whoever loves). It is recommended to put fine ice and several large cubes in a glass.
Pink and red vermouth cocktails
The most popular of these drinks is Negroni. This cocktail was included in the main drinks list of the International Barmen Association. It is prepared very simply and quickly, despite its high status. We take one part: dry gin, pink (or red) vermouth and Kampari liqueur. We mix everything at the same time in a glass, add ice to the glass and pour the drink.
Martini and Champagne
Female classics, of course, is a cocktail consisting of dry vermouth and champagne. Cooking it at home is very easy. To do this, you need to pour one third of the champagne into the shaker. Then add pink dry vermouth. The highlight of this cocktail will be strawberry syrup. Try to pour all drinks carefully. No mixing of ingredients is allowed here. Decorate the glass with a leaf of mint.
Peach Spiced Cocktail
Another very tasty and fragrant cocktail based on vermouth was called the Royal Cross. It consists of the following ingredients: 20-25 grams of whiskey, 25 grams of dry vermouth, 15 ml of lemon juice and 40 ml of peach liquor. The recipe is simple in that there is no scheme here. Just pour into the shaker, shake, mix and pour into the glasses.
Decorating this drink is not necessary. It already has such an attractive shade and alluring aroma that no one will pay attention to decorating a glass.