Vermouth

Alcoholic beverages which are not classified as spirits.

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EuroStiller
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Vermouth

Post by EuroStiller »

If anybody is intersted I have a few forumlas for vermouth, one of which is very similar to the 1786 original vermouth first made by master distiller Antonio Carpano. Most, if not all the ingredients needed, can be bought online in you do not have a good source for herbs and spices. Let me know and I will gladly post.

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Re: Vermouth

Post by kiwistiller »

very interested. :D
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blanikdog
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Re: Vermouth

Post by blanikdog »

Me too, Euro. I'm hoping to get some green walnuts this year to try your other likker.

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Re: Vermouth

Post by olddog »

Just what I need, I can make the gin, I just need the recipe for vermouth for a good martini.
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Re: Vermouth

Post by rad14701 »

Good starting points...

http://www.artofdrink.com/2007/03/how-t ... rmouth.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/to ... 3300543442" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
kiwistiller
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Re: Vermouth

Post by kiwistiller »

mmm martini's. hurry euro, hurry! though if it's even half as good as your other recipes it'll be worth the wait. you should write a book - seriously.
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Re: Vermouth

Post by MuleKicker »

hmmm, vermoth........... snake piss, with a splash of battery acid. mmm good. :lol:
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Re: Vermouth

Post by HookLine »

MuleKicker wrote:hmmm, COMMERCIAL vermoth........... snake piss, with a splash of battery acid. mmm good. :lol:
FTFY :mrgreen:
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EuroStiller
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Re: Vermouth

Post by EuroStiller »

Turin Vermouth (Original)

Coriander Seed, 100g
Germander (Teucrium chamaedrys), 60g
Dittany of Crete, 50g
Dried Sweet Orange Peel, 100g
Orris Root, 125g
Sambuca Flowers, 100g
Quinine Bark, 50g
Calamus Root, 50g
Wormwood, 30g
Blessed Thistle (Cnicus benedictus), 60g
Elencampe Root, 30g
Centaury (Centaurium erythraea), 60g
Cinnamon Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum), 50g
Angelica Root, 30g
Nutmeg, 25g
Alpine Galangal (Alpinia galanga), 25g
Cloves, 25g
Tonka Beans (Dipteryx odorata), 25g
Dry Rose Petals, 100g
White Wine, a dry type, need not be top quality, 50 Liters

Grind all the herbs and spices and put them to macerate in the wine for 6 days. After 6 days, filter the mixture (through a fine cloth) into a demijohn. The following day dissolve 25g of granular gelatin in enough hot water and pour it into the demijohn. Agitate the demijohn very well to incorporate the gelatin finning. Seal the demijohn and leave undisturbed for 8 days. After 8 days, rack the vermouth from the top into a clean demijohn. Add caramel (burnt sugar) to make the appropriate shade. If the vermouth is too bitter, add sugar in modest amounts.

Note: This is as close to Carpano Antico Formula Vermouth that is currently available on the market today. The only changes I made was to convert the gelatin used to clarify the vermouth from sheet form to granular, because it is easier for most people to get plain granular gelatin than sheet gelatin. Plus, sheet gelatin tends to be much more expensive. Please remember that this vermouth is not meant to be too sweet, but rather a bit more bitter sweet. Formula is easily divisible into a smaller batch.



Turin Vermouth No. 2 (Sweet Red)

Dittany of Crete, 240g
Clary Sage, 200g
Marjoram, 100g
Saffron, 40g
Cardamom Seed, 150g
Coriander Seed, 200g
Vanilla Bean, 150g
Yarrow, 200g
Wormwood, 100g
Roman Wormwood, 100g
Mugwort, 100g
Quinine, 100g
Dried Bitter Orange Peel, 50g
Gentian Root, 25g
Grain Alcohol 95% ABV, 10 Liters
Water, 2 Liter

Grind all the herbs and spices and infuse in the alcohol and water for 10 days. Stir the mixture daily. After 10 days filter the mixture several times so that it is as free of residue as possible.
Then add to it 10 Liters of white wine and let it rest for 10 days. Filter this new mixture into demijohn and set aside.

In a kettle dissolve 2 Kg of Sugar, 4 Kg Glucose Syrup in 30 Liters of water, then cool completely. When cool, add 6 Liters Grain Alcohol at 95%.

Combine in a vat, the aromatic base, the fortified sugar syrup, and 60 Liters of sweet dry white wine. Mix thoroughly and add caramel/ burnt sugar until desired shade is achieved. Siphon into demijohns and allow to rest 1 week. Rack into bottles and cork. No changes made to this formula at all. Formula is easily divisible into a smaller batch.



A few sources for herbs and spices, if you cannot find them:

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

http://www.pennherb.com/cgi-bin/herbsto ... indexherbs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

http://www.erboristerie.com/index.php/cPath/16" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

http://www.thegrape.net/browse.cfm/4,8922.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
For the proper Bitter Orange Peel, or visit any place that sells Beer brewing supplies

http://www.baldwins.co.uk/Herbs-Roots-B ... lowers/401" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow


I will translate and post the white Vermouth formulas as soon as I get a chance. Also, Vermouth is not snake piss, it is a classic alcoholic beverage that deserves as much respectct as whiskey, vodka, and other spirits. If it was crap, I'm certain it would have been off the market a very long time ago!!

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Re: Vermouth

Post by kiwistiller »

euro, where do you get your roman wormwood from? I couldn't find it on any of those sites.
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EuroStiller
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Re: Vermouth

Post by EuroStiller »

Kiwi
Actually I grow most of my own herbs. It is only for the spices and exotics that I have to go shopping at my local herbalist or through the internet. I only know of one seller, a member of this group, who grows and sells Roman Wormwood along with other herbs mainly for making Absinthe. I have looked at his site and it looks good. I have never ordered anything from him though.
His site: http://www.absintheherbs.com/order-form.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
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Nocino, walnut liqueur is best made in the summer and then kept and allowed to mature until at least Christmas. Since you are in Australia, you may be making soon but wating at least 6 months to taste it! Sorry. I have a 50 Liter barrel that has been aging for several years now, I can't wait to open on Christmas Eve!!

Rad
I liked those links. Good, but the info is a little off. Vermouth is not a way to cover up bad wine, maybe not the best, but not bad. And you cannot just throw anyhting in and call it Vermouth. Italian Food & Drink Purity Law established a standard that cannot be deviated from without punishment by fine. Law number 108, March 16, 1958. This is well know by all distillers in both France and Italy. If you want the approved list of ingredients so you can make up your own vermouth formula, I will glady translate the law and list of ingredients for you.

I just want to end this post on one last note about Vermouth. White vermouth is not Italian by origin. It was first made in France in 1816. The French liked Italian vermouth but wanted a more refined product. When they got there fingers in the pie, so to speak, the list of ingredient became fantasticly long as did production methods.

Modern production methods for Vermouth, with the exception of Carpano Antico and Punt e Mes, have left vemouth basically an orphan mixer for the most part. Most vermouths now are almost devoid of the charateristics that the classics have/ had. If you get the chance, I highly recommend you challenge your thoughts on this wondeful beverage and seek out a bottle of Carpano for the holidays!

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Re: Vermouth

Post by kiwistiller »

thanks for the reply. Yeah, I'm banging my head against a wall trying to find roman wormwood for absinthe making. No one grows it in NZ, and there is some epic paperwork in getting the plant in it seems.
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rad14701
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Re: Vermouth

Post by rad14701 »

Good info, EuroStiller...

No need to post the laws on my account, although others might be interested... I never acquired a taste for any drinks made with Vermouth, I was merely posting a starting point for recipes - whether fully accurate or not... The explanation about finding a use for bad wine didn't sound right to me either...
sayl
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Re: Vermouth

Post by sayl »

Hi EuroStiller,

Ay chance of posting the laws you mentioned?

"If you want the approved list of ingredients so you can make up your own vermouth formula, I will glady translate the law and list of ingredients for you."

Cheers
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Re: Vermouth

Post by EuroStiller »

The ingredients are just part of the law, let me tell you this other bit as you attempt your own mixing of herbs and spice:

From laws No. 224, 13 January 1934 and No. 108, 16 March, 1958, Italian Food & Drink Purity Laws
Il vermouth o, è un vino liquoroso aromatizzato, di gradazione alcolica non inferiore al 16% e non superiore al 21% in volume, ottenuto da vini bianchi zuccherini dal sapore neutro e delicato, da alcol puro a 95-96°, da zuccher(i) e da piante aromatiche, e oltre droghe.

Vermout is a fortified aromatic wine with an alcohol content not less than 16% and not greater than 21% by volume, made from white wine that is sweet in taste neutral in odors and delicate, and from pruo alcohol that is 95-96%ABV, with sugars, aromatic plants, and other droghe (roots, barks, leaves, seeds, resins, juices, essences, etc.)

Leaves or whole plants of:
Artemisia absinthium, A. pontica, A. vulgaris, Achillea millefolium, Centaurium erythraea, Cnicus benedictus, Dictamnus albus, Erythroxylum coca, Hyssopus officinalis, Melissa officinalis, Origanum dictamnus, Origanum majorana, Origanum vulgare, Pulmonaria officinalis, Rosmarinus officinalis, Salvia officinalis, Salvia sclarea, Satureja hortensis, Teucrium chamaedrys, Thymus serpyllum, Thymus vulgaris, Veronica officinalis.

Flowers, flower buds, flower parts of:
Caryophyllus aromaticus, Crocus sativus, Humulus lupulus, Matricaria recutita, Sambucus nigra.

Seeds of:
Angelica archengelica, Coriandrum sativum, Dipteryx odorata, Elettaria cardamomum, Foeniculum vulgare, Illicium verum, Myristica fragrans (Nutmeg & Mace), Vanilla planifolia.

Roots and tubers of:
Acorus calamus, Alpinia galanga, Alpinia officinarum, Angelica archangelica, Curcuma zedoaria, Gentiana acaulis, Gentiana lutea, Imperatoria ostruthium, Inula helenium, Iris germanica, Rheum palmatum, Zingiber officinale.


Bark and peel of:
Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinchona, Citrus aurantium (fruit peel), Citrus limon (fruit peel), Citrus sinensis (fruit peel), Punica granatum(fruit peel).

Wood or inner cortex of:
Quassia amara, Santalum album.

Fruits of: Rubus idaeus

Resins of:
Aloe

Allother ingredients must be declared and approved before the product can make it to masss market.


Good Luck!!

EuroStiller
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Re: Vermouth

Post by The Still Man »

Thanks for the original recipes. Back to the 2009 post on Turin Vermouth 2, is that a typo in the wine addition? - "sweet dry wine..." I am assuming it is dry, as there is also sugar added.
EuroStiller
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Re: Vermouth

Post by EuroStiller »

Still Man
For Turin No.2, I went back and re-read the text the formula came from. It calls for a white wine that is more or less sweet (dolce) and having a slightly tart (aspro) undertone. Try looking for wines from the areas around Piedmont (Piemonte), Cuneo Province. That said, there are equaly good similar wines that can be used from other regions that might save you a significant sum of money in the long run!

Yes, there is sugar and glucose in the formula. That is the sweetening agent. Don't worry, it won't be too sweet.
Please message me if you have any further questions or problemi.

ES
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Re: Vermouth

Post by chocdoc »

So had a go at EuroStiller's recipe for Carpano antica like vermouth. Started with a sweet muscat - only herbs I didn't have were blessed thistle and quinine. So upped the amount of the other bittering herbs to compensate for the quinine.
DSCN2152.jpg
My 'mess in place'.
DSCN2153.jpg
DSCN2154.jpg
Left on the herbs for 6 days
IMG_0819.jpg
Gelatin fining added
DSCN2239.jpg
Getting close to clear - a bit left to go.

Tasted against the real thing this am - mine is much sweeter. And not quite as raisiny - I'm going to add a touch of sherry to it. But that being said - it's a very delightful sweet vermouth - much more complex than any I have attempted before.
kvaden
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Re: Vermouth

Post by kvaden »

Hey, all. I know this thread has been quite for a long time, but I stumbled across it in my search for information on making vermouth. I notice the recipe for the Antica-type vermouth doesn’t have any apparent fortifier. Or am I missing something? Is it really just the wine?

Forgive any dumb questions, I’m at the point where I aspire to be a newbie at all this.

Thanks in advance.
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RC Al
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Re: Vermouth

Post by RC Al »

Gee the original recipe looks like the dude just walked into the pantry and said bugger it i'm going to add all of them lols
I thought Gin was bad for a shopping list...
kvaden
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Re: Vermouth

Post by kvaden »

Yeah, the list of herbs and spices I’m learning exist in the world has increased significantly since starting down this rabbit hole a while back...

But it sure is fun.
dntinsley
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Re: Vermouth

Post by dntinsley »

I just put up the sweet vermouth found it bitterer than I wanted but I'm going give it 6 months before I try to sweeten it up
tiramisu
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Re: Vermouth

Post by tiramisu »

So sweet vermouth is Italian and dry vermouth is french.
I have always used dry vermouth in my martinis.

https://www.winemag.com/2009/01/12/homemade-vermouth/
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Re: Vermouth

Post by kvaden »

tiramisu wrote: Mon Mar 08, 2021 11:34 am So sweet vermouth is Italian and dry vermouth is french.
I have always used dry vermouth in my martinis.

https://www.winemag.com/2009/01/12/homemade-vermouth/
Yeah, I use dry in my martinis and sweet in my manhattans.

Just to update on what I found for those recipes, the "camparo Antica" came out very bland, and the other one also bitter. What I wound up doing (and was very pleased with) was using the ingredients stated for the Antica, but the method for the second. Macerate the herbs in grain alcohol, mix with wine, sugar syrup, and burnt sugar. For the sugar syrup, I used a 2:1 turbinado sugar, which gave it a nice complexity.

I also found a few recipes in Il Liquorista Pratico, which I discovered referenced in another thread.

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtop ... h#p7626384
The Baker
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Re: Vermouth

Post by The Baker »

tiramisu wrote: Mon Mar 08, 2021 11:34 am So sweet vermouth is Italian and dry vermouth is french.
I have always used dry vermouth in my martinis.

https://www.winemag.com/2009/01/12/homemade-vermouth/
In old novels you can find, instead of martinis,
"Gin and French", or
"Gin and Italian".

Geoff
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Re: Vermouth

Post by sweeps »

I've made Eurostiller's first recipe a few times and been very pleased with it. However, I bring up the ABV with some neutral, I don't use gelatin and I add a substantial amount of sugar. I am also very picky about the quality of the herbs, using homegrown wherever possible - I wouldn't wish commercial cut/sifted wormwood on anyone!
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Re: Vermouth

Post by sweeps »

Also, for those of you unwilling to pay vintage book store prices for a copy of "Il Liquorista Pratico", you can read it here:

https://archive.org/details/liquoristapratic00unse
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