🍷 Sweet red vermouth
A sweet dark vermouth, classic in Italy and Spain.
Sweet red vermouth is a dark, sweet vermouth. It is an aromatised wine: an infusion of herbs and spices is added to a wine base, together with sugar and spirit. The key herb in the recipe is wormwood, and the German word for it, "Wermut", gave the drink its name.
Italian and Spanish red vermouth are considered classic. The colour usually comes from caramelised sugar. It has about 150 grams of sugar per litre, so the taste is sweet with a bitter edge from herbs. Recipes are kept secret, but vanilla, bark, citrus and spice are most often noticeable.
Rules for such drinks are set in the European regulation on aromatised wine products. Sweet red vermouth belongs to vermouths in general and to the group of Italian and Spanish wines. It is drunk chilled or over ice as an aperitif, and added to cocktails such as the Manhattan and the Negroni. An opened bottle should be kept in the fridge and not left for long: the flavour fades.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Sweet red vermouth → made in → 🗺️ Italian wine → kind of → 🗺️ Wines of Europe → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Vermouth
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ Italian wine, 🗺️ Spanish wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Vermouth
Frequently asked questions
What is sweet red vermouth?
A sweet, dark aromatised vermouth: wine with an infusion of herbs and spices.
How much sugar is in sweet red vermouth?
Usually about 150 grams per litre.
How should opened vermouth be stored?
In the fridge and not for long, because the flavour fades with time.
Similar
🍷 Bianco vermouth · 🍷 Vermouth di Torino · 🍷 Dry vermouth · 🍷 Americano (aromatised wine) · 🍷 Brut nature · 🍷 Extra brut
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.