Sweet vermouth
In sweet vermouths, sugar syrup is added before the wine is fortified with extra alcohol and normally contains 10–15% sugar. The sugar content in dry vermouths generally does not surpass 4%.
Sweet vermouth, which is used to make negronis, Manhattans is also called “rosso” or “red” vermouth. However, its actual color is more of a caramel brown.
Vermouth is made by starting with a base of neutral grape wine or unfermented wine must. Each factory adds additional alcohol and a proprietary mixture of dry ingredients, consisting of aromatic herbs, roots, and barks, to the base wine, base wine plus spirit, or spirit only – which may be redistilled before adding to the wine or unfermented wine must.
Italian and French companies deliver most of the vermouth consumed throughout the world.
Sweet vermouth is also great with
Negroni
A Negroni is an Italian cocktail, made of one part gin, one part vermouth rosso, and one part Campari, garnished with orange peel. It is considered an aperitivo. Outside of Italy, an orange peel is often used in place of an orange slice. While the drink's origins are unknown, the most widely reported account is that it was first invented in Florence by the dauntless Italian Count Camillo Negroni in the early 20th century.
Tipperary
The Tipperary is a cocktail made with Irish whiskey, sweet red Vermouth, green Chartreuse, and Angostura bitters. Though perhaps less mainstream than some of its fellow classic cocktails, the Tipperary has been around for quite some time. It first appeared in the 1916 printing of "Recipes for Mixed Drinks" by Hugo R. Ensslin.
Bijou
A bijou is a mixed cocktail composed of gin, vermouth, and chartreuse. This beverage invented by Harry Johnson is called bijou because it combined the colors of three jewels: gin for diamond, vermouth for ruby, and chartreuse for emerald. The bijou was widespread for several decades however, it disappeared after Prohibition.
Brandy Manhattan
The Perfect Brandy Manhattan is a variation of the classic Manhattan cocktail, made with brandy instead of whiskey and using equal parts sweet and dry vermouth. Add in a dash or two of Angostura bitters, for an excellent, classic cocktail. This type of brandy is popular in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Comparing the flavor profiles of bourbon and brandy needs a little bit of expertise. The fermented wines when making brandy create a huge impact on the flavor as the grapes and fruits can vary. Bourbons tend to be sweeter due to the residual sugar during fermentation.
Boulevardier
The boulevardier cocktail is an alcoholic drink composed of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Campari. Its creation is ascribed to Erskine Gwynne, an American-born writer who founded a monthly magazine in Paris called Boulevardier, which appeared from 1927 to 1932. The drink was also popularized after it was included in Harry MacElhone’s 1927 book "Barflies and Cocktails."
Vieux Carre
The Vieux Carré is an IBA official cocktail made with rye whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth liqueur, Bénédictine, and Peychaud's bitters. The cocktail is a slightly sweet, spiced, and warming drink with herbal, citrus, and smoky notes. The recipe was first stirred to life during the 1930s by Walter Bergeron, a bartender at New Orleans Carousel Bar.
Manhattan
A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey. Popular history suggests that the drink originated at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the mid-1870s, where it was invented by Iain Marshall for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome.
Blackthorn
The Blackthorn is a sloe gin-based cocktail that emerged in the early 20th century. The blackthorn is the name for Prunus spinosa, the plant whose fruit is called sloes. Those fruits are infused in gin to create sloe gin, from where the cocktail name. The name Blackthorn was assigned to many cocktails, all of which are using sloe gin as their base. The cocktail is tasty and intriguing, with sweet, savory, and spicy hints of cloves and cinnamon.