Next time you stop at your local Liquor store, ask the product advisor how many bottles of Vermouth they sell in a typical month. The number I assure you will be a small one. People simply don’t know what to do with a Vermouth, other than to spritz a wee bit into a Gin cocktail.

I just finished another of my wild experiments – this one to make Vermouth. I started with a quantity of Vodka. You can obviously buy your Vodka at the Liquor store. In my case, I take a slightly different approach which I shall not discuss here. I added a litany of herbs that I sourced at Herbie’s Herbs in Toronto, Canada. Look around your community and you will find a purveyor of herbs and spices. The list included the likes of Wormwood, Thistle, Mint, Angelica, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Gentian. I soaked the herbs in the alcohol for 20 days. I then strained the concoction through a coffee filter. The resulting dark liquid was then blended into some white Gewurtztraminer wine that I had sourced from my local U-Vin store. The ratio of herbal liquid to wine was 1 part herbal to 5 parts wine, but you can adjust that to your liking. I then added 0.8 parts simple sugar syrup for every part of the herbal liquid. Again, you can make minor adjustments to suit your taste buds. By my math, the resulting product measures about 15% alc/vol. On a nice Summer day, a generous dram of this Vermouth with an ice cube is just what the Doctor ordered as far as I am concerned.

In your travels to craft distilleries, start inquiring whether they have a Vermouth type product for sale. If not, share this post with them. Or…make your own Vermouth. Life is too short to not have a nice Vermouth on hand….for those relaxing occasions on the deck during the Summer. For recipe details, get in touch with me.