April Vermouth Round Up
Updated: Mar 25, 2022
Note: For haters of any of the particular brands here, I urge you to step outside of your insular bubble and remember that vermouth should be fun and approachable. That's all.
This month's vermouth round-up is all Spanish and, spoiler alert, it's all delicious. All of this month's bottles were recommended by Reddit's r/vermouth subreddit, and three of the five were provided by the subreddit's moderator u/Lubberworts. Some of these vermouths exceeded my high expectations and the rest defied them altogether.
What I've concluded over the past couple of years – and these tasty bottlings have reaffirmed – is that Spanish vermouth is some of the most fun you can have with vermouth. With no global historical cocktail legacy to worry about, and, until very recently, no international palates to consider for export, producers have been allowed the freedom to craft some truly adventurous and delicious juice. It honors "Old World" tradition (EU law sees to this), but pushes the boundaries of expectation – much like American vermouth does. In a way, this makes it the best of all worlds.
While not always a 1:1 for your typical dry or sweet vermouth cocktails which traditionally used French or Italian vermouth, I continue to urge all of you out there to explore the category of Spanish vermouth. Of what I've tasted, there is not one Spanish vermouth I wouldn't recommend. This month's first two vermouths from El Bandarra are great places to start your journey.
Reader donations (via the subtle PayPal link at the bottom of the page *wink*) have gone directly toward buying new vermouth to round out these guides. In the past, I've simply updated the tasting notes as I acquire new bottles, but moving forward I'll also be highlighting the fortified wines I pick up in monthly round-ups like this one.
Unlike my tasting guides which are a straightforward resource, this is where I'll dig into and detail how I enjoyed drinking and mixing with each new bottle.
If you're new to the world of vermouth, check out my Introduction to Vermouth post to learn some basics, introduce yourself to some of the terminology used, and get a general overview of how these guides are structured (and why). Then join me back here to get into the details!
El Bandarra Rojo
Origin: Spain
Producer: El Bandarra
ABV: 15%
Wine Base: 50% Macabeo, 50% Xarello
Known Botanicals: at least 50, including wormwood, clove, cinnamon, and bitter orange
Sugar: N/A
Nose: lavender, cherry, lemon, cinchona, raspberry, plum, mint, fig
Palate: wormwood, plum, cherry, lemon, cinchona, rose, cedar, chamomile, blueberry, Chinese rhubarb
Finish: wormwood, plum, cherry, cinchona, mint, lavender, rose, anise, blueberry, cacao
Additional Notes: Deep reddish-brown color. Dry and drying with a medium-light body. Exceptionally floral. Plum and lavender through and through. Works very well in cocktails but seems to have a particular affinity for rum.
First off, look at these bottles! The design is fun and casual rather than elegant and intimidating. With anything wine-adjacent, foreign words and fancy scripts tend to make most folks' eyes glaze over, but El Bandarra's packaging practically begs for an impulse purchase for your next picnic or house party. Plus, I love the reusability of the bottles themselves.
As for what's in the bottle? If there was ever a vermouth that could get Americans over their apprehension of enjoying aromatized wines beyond cocktail ingredients, it's El Bandarra. Floral, fruity, pleasantly bitter, and not particularly sweet, it's both a perfect gateway vermouth and an incredibly complex offering, even for those who've tasted 130+ vermouths. It worked well in every cocktail application I attempted: Adonis, Negroni, Manhattan, Cobbler, Improved Vermouth Cocktail. It always plays dry but never requires rejiggering. It also seemed to be particularly drawn to rum as a base spirit, as is evident by my depleted supply of El Dorado 12.
El Bandarra Blanco
Origin: Spain
Producer: El Bandarra
ABV: 15%
Wine Base: 50% Garnacha Blanca, 50% Xarello
Known Botanicals: at least 40, including wormwood
Sugar: N/A
Nose: vanilla, mint, cinchona, orange, papaya, lemon, almond, strawberry
Palate: vanilla, wormwood, toasted marshmallow, orange, cinchona, thyme, juniper, candied almonds
Finish: vanilla, wormwood, toasted marshmallow, orange, coffee, cinnamon, ginger, cinchona
Additional Notes: Light straw yellow color. Medium-bodied with a slightly oily texture. Perfectly balanced between the confectionary and bitter. Vanilla and orange dominate the palate. Dilution brings out lots of cream soda notes. More of a ginger heat rather than the expected cinnamon. An absolute delight to sip on its own or in cocktails.
Right off the bat, I gotta say this is officially one of my new go-to sweet white vermouths for easy mixing. I absolutely love it. It's a tad bit sweeter and slightly more bitter than the Rosso (it's advertised as the sweeter of the two as well), with a wonderful balance of orange, vanilla, and wormwood. If you're thinking "Oh, not ANOTHER sweet white vermouth propping itself up on orange and vanilla," I'll stop you now and say this is one of the most balanced profiles out there on account of the wormwood bite.
This balance makes it a versatile vermouth. It made for two of the best Scofflaw and El Presidente cocktails I've ever had, but truth be told, it was so delicious I mostly consumed it with either soda water or tonic water. I have a feeling this one will be getting a lot of play this summer.
BCN Vermut Ambar Mediterranean Dry
Origin: Spain
Producer: BCN
ABV: 18%
Wine Base: Garnacha Blanca
Known Botanicals: At least 13: wormwood, clove, angelica, cinnamon, orange peel, elderflower, juniper, rosemary, vanilla, laurel, thyme, fennel, pine shoots
Sugar: N/A
Nose: sandalwood, vanilla, myrrh, cinnamon, sage, rose, orange, mint, clove, strawberry
Palate: wormwood, cinnamon, lemon, clove, thyme, fennel, eucalyptus, strawberry, vanilla
Finish: wormwood, eucalyptus, cedar, cinnamon, oregano, orange, vanilla, clove
Additional Notes: Deep copper color. Fortified with brandy distilled from Cariñena and Garnacha Blanca. Medium body. Clove and wormwood dominate from start to finish. Very bitter with a drying, moreish quality. Dilution brings out a lot of vanilla.
BCN is primarily a gin producer, but this recent foray into vermouth makes me think they'll soon be synonymous with this dark dry vermouth. This is one of the most unique and delicious things I have ever tasted. Finding this vermouth in the wild is my new mission in life.
I received a small sample, but it was enough to get the tasting notes of the vermouth itself. The majority of my allotment went to figuring out what exactly I was tasting as it took me a moment to get my head around it.
The remainder went into a Martini because I had to know. 3:1 with Broker's London Dry and a dash of Regan's orange bitters. And guess what? It made for one of the most delicious Martinis I have ever tasted. Peppery and pleasant, it was as dry as you would expect with lots of vanilla, wormwood, and sandalwood. As flavorful as the vermouth is, the gin was still able to shine - each sip was assertive but finished nicely with a hint of vanilla.
BCN Vermut Negre Barrel-Aged Mediterranean Dry
Origin: Spain
Producer: BCN
ABV: 18%
Wine Base: Garnacha Blanca
Known Botanicals: At least 13: wormwood, clove, angelica, cinnamon, orange peel, elderflower, juniper, rosemary, vanilla, laurel, thyme, fennel, pine shoots
Sugar: N/A
Nose: licorice, lemon, cinnamon, butterscotch, sarsaparilla, amaretto, sandalwood, bitter orange, cherry, vanilla, nutmeg
Palate: toffee, cedar, mushroom, wormwood, coffee, lemon, mint, juniper, cinnamon, cherry, white pepper
Finish: cherry, vanilla, cinnamon, toffee, coffee, ash, mushroom, juniper, almond, hay
Additional Notes: Deep red-tinted brown appearance. Barrel-aged between 9 and 12 months. Limited Edition (600-1000 bottles). Fortified with brandy distilled from Cariñena and Garnacha Blanca. Mineral and salinic with a medium-light body. Lots of Dr. Pepper/cherry cola notes with plenty of wormwood and toffee throughout. Reminded me a bit of the profile of amari like Amargo Vallet. Vanilla comes through prominently when mixed.
I'm assuming this is the same vermouth as above, but barrel-aged. As you might expect, the barrel greatly tempers the bitterness. The overall profile shifts from wormwood and clove to wormwood and toffee. Significantly more confectionary and fruitier than the drier, more herbaceous Ambar Mediterranean Dry with additional notes of coffee, butterscotch, and mushroom. It also has a slightly lighter body. I'm grateful to have been able to sample such a rare treat.
This is actually marketed as more of a digestif than an aperitif by importer De Maison Selections, but after the incredible Martini I made with the standard expression, I knew my last 23ml would find its way into another 3:1 Broker's Martini.
It made for a surprisingly delicious dry Martini with the botanical profile of a sweet white or red vermouth. As someone who's never been able to get into Martinis made with sweeter vermouths (even my darling Contratto Bianco isn't bitter enough to balance all that sugar), I absolutely love what this barrel-aged dry vermouth brings to the mix. The result is a bone dry Martini with huge flavors of cherry, cinnamon, vanilla - almost as if it were made with a robust Italian sweet red or even a dark quinquina which had been stripped of their sugar. There's a massive amount of vanilla on the nose which plays nicely with a citrus twist.
Becquer Vermouth de Granacha Gran Reserva
Origin: Spain
Producer: Bodegas Escudero
ABV: 17%
Wine Base: Garnacha
Known Botanicals: at least 40, including wormwood, thyme, and rosemary
Sugar: N/A
Nose: tamarind, pomegranate, clove, bell pepper, clove, chili, grape, brine, Worcestershire, calamansi
Palate: tomato, cinchona, orange, tamarind, cinnamon, balsamic vinegar, lemon, cacao, fig
Finish: tomato, clove, cinnamon, sandalwood, rhubarb, plum, raisin, calamansi
Additional Notes: Deep red-brown color with a medium-light body. The wine is aged for 24 months in American and French barrels, followed by an additional 5 years in a tank. A juicy, umami bomb.
While the last two vermouths used Garnacha Blanca grapes, Becquer uses Garnacha, making it one of few vermouths to use a red grape as its base. The medium-light body leads me to believe the late harvesting of these red grapes provides a good amount of natural, residual sugar eschewing the need for a lot of added sweetener.
One thing I noted was a very fruity, savory, umami-rich profile which reminded me quite a bit of Mattei's line of Corsican quinquinas. Cap Corse quinquina promotes cedrat (aka citron), a Mediterannean citrus fruit with a flavor profile similar to a cross between a lemon and calamansi, as one of their backbone botanicals. I only bring this up because it's the closest I've come to tasting anything quite like this.
I tried it in two sweet red vermouth standards: a Manhattan and a Negroni. The Manhattan was great - perfectly balanced with a nice toasted almond note throughout. The Negroni was exceptional. This juicy, acidic vermouth does wonders at cutting through the heavy sweetness of Campari. Additionally, since it isn't a particularly bitter vermouth, the Campari shouldered the burden of bitterness. Not too sweet, not too bitter, it is perfect in a classic equal parts formula.
The Guides
Check out the individual regional Vermouth guides for more detailed information on regional styles and recommended bottles:
Dry Vermouth
The Complete Guide to Dry Vermouth
Sweet White Vermouth
The Complete Guide to Sweet White Vermouth
Sweet Red Vermouth
The Complete Guide to Sweet Red Vermouth
Quinquina and Americano
The Complete Guide to Quinquina and Americano
Please send any updates or corrections to brian@corpserevived.com.