If you’re like most budding home bartenders, you probably have a sweet or dry vermouth (or both) among your bottles. And if you’re anything like me, that vermouth bottle is collecting some dust.
When you’re on a martini kick, you find yourself reaching for that bottle of dry vermouth (hopefully from the refrigerator, where it belongs!) only to use a mere drop or two if you like your ‘tini dry. Finishing the bottle feels like a Sisyphean task. Thankfully, dry vermouth can do a lot more than martini.
And, the same is true of sweet vermouth—it goes a lot further than Manhattans (the same can’t be said for some New Yorkers who refuse to visit other boroughs). In Spain, I always enjoy sweet vermouth over a little ice as an aperitif, or with an added splash of club soda (vermut con sifón) garnished with an orange slice and olive.
Vermouth is a magical aromatized fortified wine that offers a ton of flavors in a single pour, which is why it’s so prevalent in so many cocktail recipes. I’ve gathered some favorites, moving from those recipes which use dry vermouth into those calling for sweet, so the next time either bottle is staring you down you’ll have more than a few ways to put it to good use.