LIFE BEHIND BARS #16: The Truth about Vermouth

St. John Frizell, bartender at Manhattan's Pegu Club and The Good Fork in Brooklyn, shares recipes, tips, and secrets of the bar biz.

The Duplex is a great way to start the day.

My introduction to vermouth occurred when I was 20 or so, and first read Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. It seems every other line of that semi-autobiographical story of love in war-torn Italy is, "I drank a bottle of vermouth and read the English papers." Inspired, I went out and bought a few bottles—it helped that fifths of cheap vermouth sold for less than $5 at my local grocery store. I grimaced my way through many sour, skunked swigs of vermouth, reading the papers, thinking "If Hemingway drank it, it must be good."

Here are two simple pieces of advice: One—don't drink something just because Hemingway did. Two—keep your vermouth in the refrigerator. It only makes sense—vermouth is just wine that's been infused with herbs and spices, after all, and if you leave a bottle of wine out at room temperature, it goes bad pretty quickly. Of course, vermouth is fortified, which means alcohol has been added to it, and that extra alcohol helps preserve flavor. But the truth is that the flavors in a bottle of vermouth start to fade as soon as you twist open the cap; I have seen this phenomenon scientifically demonstrated. So buy small bottles, and keep them refrigerated. It's the difference between a great martini and a ho-hum one.

Also, buy the good stuff. Try Noilly Pratt French vermouth; Martini & Rossi or Cinzano Italian vermouth (what Hemingway was drinking in Italy, or close to it); or Vya, made by California's Quady Winery. Vya red and white vermouths are wonderful just served on the rocks with a twist, and with the English papers.

Cocktails containing equal parts French and Italian vermouth (and a dash of this or that) have gone by many names over the years, including the Trocadero, the Bittersweet, and—during last year's football season— the Half Sinner-Half Saint. Here's a recipe from the Stork Club Bar Book (1946) by Lucius Beebe for another in that family.

Duplex Cocktail
1 1/3 oz. French vermouth
1 1/3 oz. Italian vermouth
dash Angostura bitters

Stir [over ice, strain,] and serve in a 3 oz. cocktail glass.

St. John Frizell







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