Berserkers,
You may recall my Vermouth thread where I promised to keep everyone updated as I went through my eclectic Vermouth thread. Well I’m keeping that promise but decided not to do a thread bump and instead post a separate TN for the remaining ones. And so I have now opened another from Spain that is very interesting in how it caught me off guard from what I was expecting but makes sense in a cultural context:
VERMELL VERMUT ROJO
SUMMARY: A light bodied delicate Vermouth (or Vermut in Spanish) from Spain that actually can and should be treated as a table wine instead of an aperitif or a cocktail ingredient.
The base of this Vermouth is Monastrell and Muscat wine and it contains 16 botanicals, all of which are confidently listed on the back label individually. IT has a burnt sugar brown color in the glass, immediately indicating that the traditional use of caramel has been utilized. For a second I was worried I had acquired another sweet goopy mess a la Dolin. However, there are absolutely no legs or tears in the glass indicating the Vermouth is a lot lighter than I think it is. Nose is of absinthe and cinnamon. In the mouth, I am immediately struck by how delicate and light bodied the Vermouth is. Flavors of sweet ripe Bing cherries mix with flavors of tobacco, coffee, absinthe and baking spices. The fruit is definitely there alongside the sugar and spices and is almost reminiscent of ruby Port, to be honest. Finish is short but in this case it turns out to actually be a good thing.
In fact, this Vermouth is so light that I ended up matching it with cheddar cheese bread with beer butter, a Hamachi sashimi tostada topped with pickled onions and red jalapeno peppers, and Thai coleslaw. Further, I actually went back twice to the fridge for another glass as I was writing this review.
This was very good. I was a bit puzzled as to why it was so light but when you consider the Spanish eating culture it makes perfect sense. Drinking draft Vermouth in Spain at happy hour is a tradition and they serve it as a long drink in a tall glass full of ice. Given this, it makes perfect sense that the Spanish Vermouths I have all top out at 15% as opposed to the traditional 18% so that you aren’t completely inebriated and can drink more wine and liquor as your evening progresses. Quite the contrast from the full-bodied and much sweeter and fruitier Tragenda which prides itself on intensity and is essentially a sipping dessert wine. This is quite drinkable despite the sweetness and spiciness. I would recommend serving it chilled with a rock or two and have it along with some light appetizers and/or the first course or two before you’re ready to move on to some high end wine.
