Vermut
Making your own vermut means steeping wine with wormwood and a chorus of aromatic botanicals, then fortifying and lightly sweetening it. The result is a personal aperitivo for the weekend ritual of la hora del vermut.
Approximate, per 1 glass over ice (~100ml). Values vary by recipe and portion.
Ingredients
- ·750 ml dry white wine
- ·100 ml brandy or neutral spirit
- ·80 g sugar
- ·2 g dried wormwood
- ·1 cinnamon stick
- ·Peel of 1 orange
- ·4 cardamom pods, cracked
- ·3 cloves
- ·1 star anise
- ·1 tsp dried gentian or angelica root (optional)
Method
- 1
Combine the wormwood, cinnamon, orange peel, cardamom, cloves, star anise and any root botanicals with the wine in a jar.
- 2
Seal and leave to infuse in a cool, dark place for 3-5 days, tasting daily until pleasantly bitter and aromatic; wormwood turns harshly bitter if left too long.
- 3
Make a caramel by melting the sugar in a dry pan until amber, then carefully stir in a splash of the infused wine to loosen it into a syrup.
- 4
Strain the infused wine through muslin to remove all the botanicals.
- 5
Stir the caramel syrup and the brandy into the strained wine, adjusting sweetness to taste.
- 6
Bottle and refrigerate for at least a few days to let the flavours settle.
- 7
Serve chilled over ice with an orange slice and an olive.