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Vermouth or US ver-mooth) is an aromatized fortified wine flavored with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, spices). The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in 1757 in Turin, Italy. Vermouth was consumed as a medicinal libation until the later 19th century when it became an important ingredient in many of the first classic cocktails, such as the martini, the Manhattan, and the Negroni. In addition to being consumed as an aperitif or cocktail ingredient, vermouth is sometimes used as a substitute for white wine in cooking.
Historically, there have been two main types of vermouth, sweet and dry.Recently, however, vermouth manufacturers have begun experimenting and have created various styles, including white or bianco, amber, and rose. Vermouth is produced by starting with a base of a neutral grape wine. Each manufacturer adds additional alcohol and a proprietary mixture of dry ingredients, consisting of aromatic herbs, roots, and barks, to the base wine. After the wine is aromatized and fortified, the vermouth is sweetened with either cane sugar[4] or caramel, depending on the style.[4] Italian and French companies produce most of the vermouth consumed throughout the world.
Vermouth
The name "vermouth" comes from the German word Wermut for wormwood that has been used as an ingredient in the drink over its history. Fortified wines containing wormwood as a principal ingredient existed in Germany around the 16th century. At about this time an Italian merchant named D'Alessio began producing a similar product in Piedmont as a "wormwood wine". By the mid-17th century, the drink was popular in England under the name "vermouth" which has been the common name for the beverage until the present day
Consumption of wines fortified with herbs and/or roots is believed to have begun in China at least as early as the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties in (1250–1000 BC). The extra ingredients were added to wine to make it a medicinal drink. Wormwood wine also played a key role in India around 1500BC.[8] Recipes for infusing white wine date back to ancient Greece from around 400 BC. A popular ingredient was wormwood, based on the belief that it was effective at treating stomach disorders and intestinal parasites. D'Alessio's version of the libation contained other botanical ingredients in addition to wormwood. Competing brands developed shortly thereafter in eastern and southeastern France contained their own, proprietary mix of ingredients, including herbs, roots, and spices.
