Sweet vermouth
Also called red vermouth, vermouth rosso, Italian vermouth, vermut
Red (rosso) vermouth: white wine fortified, sweetened and infused with wormwood, herbs, spices and often vanilla or cocoa, 15 to 18% ABV, amber to mahogany in color. Born in Turin in 1786, it is the second third of a Negroni and the sweetening modifier in a Manhattan. Refrigerate once opened.
- caramel
- vanilla
- bitter orange
- wormwood
- cola spice
- dried fruit
- cocoa
- gentle bitterness
Origin
Antonio Benedetto Carpano launched the first commercial vermouth in Turin in 1786: a lightly fortified white wine sweetened and infused with alpine herbs, spices and wormwood, the plant whose German name (Wermut) gave the category its name. The company passed to his nephew Giuseppe Bernardino and the style spread through Piedmont's aperitivo houses (Cinzano, Martini, Cocchi). Despite the old shorthand, both Italy and France make sweet and dry styles. Carpano Classico is bottled at 16% ABV.
Production and safety
Vermouth is wine based and contains sulfites; people with sulfite sensitivity should be told. Once opened, keep it refrigerated and use within about a month: it is a wine, and it oxidizes.
Allergens: Sulfites
Common uses
- manhattan
- negroni
- boulevardier
- Americano
- Rob Roy
- Hanky Panky
Pours that use it
- Classic
Boulevardier
Bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth: the Negroni's Paris cousin
A stirred bitter-sweet whiskey cocktail from 1920s Paris: bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth, served over a large cube or up with an orange twist.
WhiskeyStirredEasy - Classic
Manhattan
Rye and sweet vermouth, stirred to a dark gloss
The classic New York whiskey cocktail: rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters, stirred with ice and served up with a brandied cherry.
WhiskeyStirredEasy - Classic
Negroni
Equal parts, Florence, and a count who wanted more
Italy's bittersweet aperitivo classic: equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, stirred and served over ice with an orange slice or peel.
GinStirredEasy
Sources
- Carpano Classico (Difford's producer and product page), Difford's Guide · secondary source, retrieved 2026-10-11