Vermouth, Who?

It's all fun and games until someone breaks out the Rye

 About 15 years ago I was introduced to vermouth as a cocktail, not just a mixer. There were a few high end vermouths that I would sip on a regular basis. At that time it was only dry vermouth that I was interested in. I never put much thought into trying sweet vermouth. Actually, I never understood what sweet vermouth "really" added to a cocktail.


Last night my world opened up. Earlier on in the week a customer of mine asked me to special order Carpano sweet vermouth. He also insisted that I get a bottle for myself to try. Twist my arm.

High West Double Rye and Carpano Sweet Vermouth

As soon as I brought the glass up to my nose, I was greeted with sweet herbal notes with hints of clove, cinnamon, and black cherries. On the palate it showed some licorice, mint, orange rind, nutmeg and dried herbs. It was a flavor assault on the front of the palate and then subsided fairly quickly to a finish that left me thinking about what other herbs and spices I might get with the next sip. It was awesome. Then I decided to drop a couple of ice cubes in the glass and swirl it around a bit. I went at it again. Wow. The ice opened up all of the fruit, softened the herbal qualities and mellowed the spices. This time the finish was long, sweet and elegant. This was amazing.

Since I was drinking vermouth, I decided I would make a half-version of a Manhattan; vermouth and whiskey. I immediately reached for the two ryes that I had open in my stash of whiskeys. I got two rocks glasses, filled them with ice and threw in one part vermouth to three parts rye. The two ryes were High West Double Rye and Tuthilltown Hudson Manhattan Rye. 


The Manhattan Rye proved to be a bit too herbaceous, earthy or gritty/grainy with the vermouth. The Double Rye seemed to be more of a contrast in flavors with the vermouth. I think it created a much better balance between the delicate flavors of the vermouth and the robust flavors of the Double Rye. 

An Empty bottle of Manhattan Rye = Sad Times

Later on in the evening, I had dinner with my fiancee and some friends at our local favorite farm-to-fork restaurant, leFarm. I brought the bottle of vermouth there, too. The other couple that we met there just happened to bring a bottle of Whistle Pig Canadian Rye by pure coincidence. Or was it? Hmmm... Makes ya think. Anyway, Whistle Pig + Carpano = better. This time, I tried something different. I poured two parts vermouth to one part WP neat. Yup. That was perfect. leFarm was perfect, too.

Colorado

In 1995 I moved to Boulder, Colorado. It was an amazing chapter in my life. During a point of massive turmoil in my life, I found serenity. It must've been the fresh mountain air.

I moved out there on the premise that I would stay with a very good friend of mine from my high school days, Andrea, and her boyfriend, Rob. The day that I got there, I visited Rob at his workplace, Jiffy Lube on 30th street. It just so happened that they were hiring. To make a long story short, I was hired on the spot. Amongst the shenanigans, debauchery, hilarity and drunken stupors, I was starting to see why we all were there. I'd befriended a group of guys and gals that were trying to escape something in their past and somehow we all ended up at Jiffy Lube.

After a few months, Andrea and Rob and I went separate ways. Rob was fired from Jiffy Lube. My parents finalized their divorce. My apartment was broken in to. My parked car was severely damaged in a hit and run. At a gig up in Ft. Collins, my guitar was knocked over and broken. My kitten, Beuford, ripped through my window screen and ran away. Two of my closest friends, Zena and Peter, lived hours away. I was alone and it was rough. Yet, whenever I look back on my time in Colorado, I say it was the best time of my life.

I learned so much about myself as well as others around me. I like to call it a social awakening. I fell in love with the mountains. I was fascinated about the weather patterns in Boulder. I was amazed that it could snow 16 inches over night and the next day would 65 degrees and sunny. I was delighted to find out that Spring and Fall mimicked New England. Though I didn't have that much contact with my family, I had a family of friends of my own.

Eventually, I had to move home. I had to leave my Hell Hole that I called my own Private Heaven. I was sad. I promised myself that someday I would return. I would be ready to soak it all in again.

With that dream still in the forefront of my mind, I still call Boulder my "home". Now that I own a wine shop with my fiancee, I'm selling some products made in my "home state," Colorado. From the first sip I'm transported back to Boulder, and all those memories come flooding back. I can smell the mountain air and hear my friend's laughter and I may even be able to smell some axle grease. The whiskey I found today is just one example of what keeps my dream alive.

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey 

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey is delicious. It's bottled at 94 proof. If you add a cube of ice, it drinks like an 80 proof. I found it at a little shop down in NYC called Bottle Rocket. The salesman was a little iffy describing the whiskey. So I decided to try it. I'm weird like that. I couldn't wait to get home to try it. Thank God that it came with a galvanized steel shot glass on the top of the bottle. I chose to crack the bottle on the train ride back to Westport. It's rich, complex, edgy and robust. If your looking for that sour mash sweetness, you've come to the wrong place. Colorado Whisky is a hell of a lot different than any domestic whiskey I've ever had. I dig it. This, in my opinion, would be the ultimate ingredient for a Manhattan.

I highly doubt that at this point in time that this is avavliable in Connecticut. So, just like High West Whiskey in Utah, I will try my best to bring this beautiful spirit to our little Connecticut community.

Just like anything else that I write about, if you'd like to sample this beauty, just let me know the next time you are in the store. I might just have some left in my secret stash in the back room.