Vermouth will out: the rise of vermouth in London bars and restaurants

Get a taste for London’s new favourite fortified drink this London Wine Week, says Ben Norum
Fortification: vermouth at Mele e Pere
Ben Norum20 May 2015

There was a time not so long ago that dusty vermouth bottles were the poor relations on the back bar, their contents used only for rinsing cocktail glasses destined to hold dry martinis.

But not any more. London’s top restaurants and bars love the stuff – which is simply wine that has been sweetened and infused with botanicals – and are finally putting it firmly in the spotlight.

So hip is it becoming that it dominates the cocktail menu at Marylebone hotspot Chiltern Firehouse (chilternfirehouse.com) and is the headliner at new Soho spot Termini (bar-termini.com), led by cocktail legend Tony Conigliaro of 69 Colebrooke Row (69colebrookerow.com).

You’ll also find it featuring prominently at The Artesian (artesian-bar.co.uk) near Regent Street – voted the best bar in the world at last year’s 50 Best Bars awards – and at top Old Street speakeasy Nightjar (barnightjar.com).

“Bartenders have brought vermouth back along with the rise of old-school cocktails,” says Nightjar’s head bartender Marian Beke, linking vermouth’s renaissance to a wider trend towards classic cocktails. He also notes that “its complexity of flavours – with sweet, bitter, and dry variables – make it flexible to showcase in a wide variety of different drinks,” hence its popularity with bartenders.

But vermouth isn’t just good when blended. It’s served straight at Angela Hartnett’s Café Murano (cafemurano.co.uk), Vinoteca (vinoteca.co.uk) and at Raw Duck in Hackney (rawduckhackney.co.uk). There’s a whole vermouth list at City Road newcomer Singer Tavern (singertavern.com) and there are vermouth pairing dinners on the cards at both Jago in Shoreditch (jagorestaurant.com) and Exmouth Market’s Morito (morito.co.uk).

Latest London drinks trends

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Soho Italian restaurant Mele e Pere (meleepere.co.uk) – which was well ahead of the vermouth curve – has been making its own for over three years. Interest has peaked to the point that they now hold monthly vermouth masterclasses and make two batches of the stuff a week.

Morito chef and co-owner Sam Clarke puts its popularity down in part to London’s move towards a more continental, informal approach to eating: “vermouths and aperitivos really suit small eats and convivial social gatherings... there has been a re-emergence of vermuterias in Catalunya and its capital Barcelona, and this is now progressing to London”.

Whether vermouth’s prominence is a passing trend or something longer lasting remains to be seen, but right now it couldn’t be more of the moment.

“The modern drinker seeks flavours to excite them without a high alcohol content” says Alex Kratena, head bartender at Artesian. “Being a wine, vermouth has nice acidity and tannins which makes for a rich, full taste and it’s relatively low in alcohol… it works amazing well”.

Follow Ben Norum on Twitter @BenNorum

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