Photo by Elliot Watkins courtesy Flying Fox Vermouth
Vermouth and the bittersweet Italian liqueur amaro are both aromatized wines, created by infusing variegated botanicals such as juniper, rose or artichoke into a neutral base wine. They’re served chilled or iced as digestifs in Europe, but in Richmond their herbal whispers are most often heard through the canon of classic cocktails.
1. Flying Fox Vermouth
$35 per 750 ml at Corks & Kegs
Eye candy! Each of the four seasonal labels is adorned with drawings of the ingredients within. In the fall, persimmons and ginger add spice to a gin-based Hanky Panky cocktail.
2. Mt. Defiance Sweet Vermouth
$19 per 375 ml at Virginia ABC (product code 099785)
Middleburg produces the Mt. Defiance hard cider that fortifies this white wine, while distillery-grown herbs create a liquid cure-all, set on doctoring up an autumnal Manhattan.
3. Early Mountain Vineyards’ War & Rust
Cocktail ingredient at Rogue and Heritage
At the bar at Rogue or Heritage, winemaker Ben Jordan squeezes bales of bark and flowers into this limited-production juice, which looks an awful lot like an inky, Northern Italian Barolo Chinato. Sharply bitter, the dessert wine opens up with air, making it just right for stirring into a Negroni.
4. Capitoline Dry Vermouth
$29 per 750 ml at wine-searcher.com
Kat Hamidi, a former D.C. beverage director turned vermouth vixen, makes three varieties, but it’s her dry version that raises my spirits. Redolent with artichoke, rhubarb root and citrus, its sunny flavors dazzle in a Perfect Rob Roy.
5. Spirit Lab Distilling’s Forage Amaro
$45 per 750 ml at Virginia ABC (product code 953888)
Containing elderflower and bee pollen laced with foraged pecans and pawpaws, this Charlottesville amaro is minty, floral and tropical, a favorite sipper with a cheese plate.