New Cocktails: the Right Boulevard

While I haven't been drinking a whole lot lately, I still enjoy a cocktail now and then. While flipping through The Art of the Shim once again, I remembered how much I enjoyed the Boulevardier 1934. But let's see what happens when we give it a rhum-y spin.

The Right Boulevard

1 oz Cocchi di Torino
1 oz Cocchi Americano
0.5 oz Bruto Americano
0.5 oz aged rhum agricole

Combine all ingredients, stir on ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled coupe.

The aromas are rather shy until the drink warms up a bit, with vanilla from the vermouth leading the way followed by citrus from the Americanos and a touch of agricole grassiness/brandy. The sip opens with sweet citrus (especially grapefruit), some red bitter in the middle, fading out through classic agricole flavors. The finish is a melange of thick bittersweetness, pine, grass, brandy, and grapefruit pith.

As I suggested in my previous post, the basic form of this drink seems very amenable to modification. While my initial thought had been to drag it back into more classic territory with some rye whiskey, a bottle of Clément VSOP caught my eye. From there Bruto Americano seemed like a solid accompaniment to bring it in a more herbal direction compared to Campari. While this ended up a bit sweeter than I was envisioning, my wife declared it the best cocktail I've ever made so I'm not about to dismiss it.

Classic Cocktails: the Boulevardier 1934/1929

Yet another drink taken from The Art of the Shim, the history has since been updated to show that its provenance reaches even further back. While in general form this has similarities to the more classic whiskey-based Bouldevardier from 1927, it takes a rather different and softer approach.

Boulevardier 1934/1929

1 oz Dubonnet (sub Punt e Mes)
1 oz kina (Cocchi Americano)
0.5 oz Campari
0.5 oz cognac

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The aromas start off rather closed, but open up as the drink warms. There's a lovely melange of dark raisins, grapefruit, cognac, raspberries, and some dry bitter notes. The sip opens rather sweetly with a bit of a syrupy feel, some grape and raspberry notes right behind, then slides into an unfolding array of gentle bitterness ranging from the dry quinine and wormwood notes to the slightly more astringent Campari. The finish is pleasantly bitter, drawing from the wines and Campari in roughly equal measure, with just enough residual sweetness to keep it from being too much.

As with many drinks in this book, it helps a lot to adjust your expectations. Initially this comes off somewhat like a cold glass of vermouth, but as it sits and warms the other ingredients make themselves known and add complexity. While this won't have the punch of a more spirit-driven cocktail, there's absolutely no lack of flavor here. The form also offers some interesting room to play since I think you could swap the cognac for something like rye or apple brandy to put a new twist on it. Alternatively, swapping the Campari for a different red bitter will dial the overall bitterness up or down.

Classic Cocktails: the Old Pal

Another in the annals of lesser known siblings of more famous cocktails, the Old Pal is a clear riff on the Boulevardier that didn't quite make it into the big leagues. First printed in Harry McElhone’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails, it dries out the more well-known version while retaining the same basic proportions.

Old Pal

1.25 oz rye whiskey

1 oz dry vermouth
1 oz Campari

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

The aromas lead with sweet fruit from the Campari, vegetal spices from the rye, and lemon from the garnish. The sip opens with big Campari and rye sweetness up front, gets rather fruity in the middle, then fades out through dry vermouth and prickly rye spices. The finish is rather dry from the vermouth and Campari bitterness, gently accented by the rye.

Is there a Negroni/Boulevardier style drink that isn't good? If there is, I haven't found it yet. This one is another win and possibly one of the first published references to Campari in a cocktail recipe (according to Old Man Drinks). I can also see this working with Bruto Americano if you want to lean into the rye or Luxardo Bitter if you want to take it in a sweeter vanilla direction. You could also soften it with blanc vermouth instead of dry, but that would be a more radical change to the profile and bring it back somewhere closer to a rye Boulevardier. However you choose to construct it, this is clearly a winner.

Classic Cocktails: the Brooklyn

This is one of the classics, even if it hasn't achieved the fame of its across the river cousin. It's original form may have been closer since there appears to have been a misprint at some point, swapping what used to be sweet vermouth for dry. But given the way this is constructed, that may be for the best.

The Brooklyn Cocktail

2 oz rye whiskey

0.75 oz dry vermouth

2 tsp Amer Picon (sub Bigallet China-China Amer)
2 tsp maraschino liqueur

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.

The aromas are very expressive, blending rye grain, vanilla, herbal notes, and orange peel. The sip begins with rye, orange, and maraschino sweetness, takes a dip into bittersweet as the vermouth comes to the fore, then fades out through maraschino. The finish is complexly bitter with dry rye, herbal notes from the vermouth, orange peel, and drying spices.

I have to admit that this is a drier drink than I usually prefer, but I can really see the appeal. Modifying the basic combination of rye and vermouth with touches of liqueur ups the sweetness just enough and adds a huge amount of complexity. This is also a good place to play around with orange-forward armaro. While the Bigallet is good, I can see this going in a darker direction with something like Ramazzotti.

New Cocktails: Artemisia

I started out once again paging through The Art of the Shim for something on the lighter side. My first stop was the Chrysanthemum, originally from the Savoy Cocktail Book. The version in Shim is quite a bit drier at 8:1 vermouth:Bénédictine and while rather good, I felt like it was lacking something. My initial thought was "This needs some gin" and I proceeded to make another with a full ounce of gin and a bit more Bénédictine. While that was closer to the mark, the gin was a little too assertive and was throwing the drink out of balance. The third time was the charm and scaling the gin back made it just right.

Artemisia

2 oz dry vermouth
0.75 oz gin
0.5 oz Bénédictine

3 dashes of absinthe/pastis

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The aromas are dominated by the anise from the Herbsaint, alongside some rounded herbal notes from the Bénédictine. The sip opens with honey sweetness, quickly fading into herbal/pine bitterness from the Bénédictine and gin, there's a burst of something fruity, then sliding towards more tart dryness from the vermouth. The finish is long and driven by the vermouth, with herbal accents.

Now this hits the spot. While there were good things about the original, they really depended on the quality and complexity of the dry vermouth. Something unidimensional just wasn't going to give a particularly engaging drink. But the added depth from more Bénédictine and a solid dose of gin elevates this into something I can really get behind. 

Looking back at what's come before, I'm a little surprised that I haven't seen these proportions elsewhere. It basically inverts the proportions of the Poet's Dream and probably has a balance somewhere around the Guion. But I'll keep beating my drum for reverse proportion cocktails, even if, as with this drink, they're not necessarily any less potent than their more spirit-forward relatives.

Classic Cocktails: Reverse Perfect El Presidente

I've enjoyed the classic El Presidente before and was inspired to give it the reverse perfect treatment when I saw it come up on a list of blanc vermouth cocktails from Imbibe. While my original version was all dry vermouth and called for a larger slug of orange liqueur, this version was able to reduce it by adding in some sweeter blanc vermouth instead of just dry.

 

Reverse Perfect El Presidente

 

1 oz blanc vermouth

1 oz dry vermouth

0.5 rum (I split it between blanc agricole and a rounder molasses based rum)

1 tsp orange liqueur

1 tstp raspberry syrup

 

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

 

The aromas are heady with vermouth inflected with raspberry, orange, and rum. The flavors open with vermouth and rum sweetness, shifts to big berry notes in the middle, then slides into pleasant orange bitterness at the back. The finish is bittersweet, fruity, and has a touch of grassy cane.

Dang, this is really, really good. There's a lot of complexity and no one ingredient overwhelms any other. Using flavorful rums (in this case Rhum J.M. 110 and Hamilton White Stache) does help to keep them from getting lost, so it's still clearly a rum-based drink. If you're not a fan of dry vermouth (looking at you, RumDood) I think you could use all blanc and keep it in balance by adding a dash of orange bitters. But whatever direction you choose to take it in, this continues to solidify my faith in the reverse perfect formula. This just keeps producing great drinks.

New Cocktails: Hello Stranger

While I've been getting a lot of my drinks from the Art of the Shim lately, I've had my eye out for other vermouth-based cocktails. This one, care of Imbibe, caught my eye in its simplicity and relatively low ABV profile.

 

Hello Stranger

 

2 oz sweet vermouth

0.25 oz brandy

0.25 oz passion fruit syrup

 

Combine all ingredients in a glass with crushed ice, swizzle, then optionally garnish with lemon wheels and sprigs of fresh thyme.

 

The nose has big grape notes from the vermouth and brandy with some passion fruit peeking around the edges. The sip begins sweetly with passion fruit and brandy plus some nice floral notes, then flows into grapes and quinine bitterness at the back. The finish is relatively dry and woody, driven by the vermouth.

Much like the Rhum Dandy Shim, this feels like a drink best suited for summer. It's nice and refreshing without being at all tepid. I do wish I had gone with the optional garnish since I think a touch of lemon would have helped brighten it up, but it doesn't feel out of balance without. 

 

Using Punt e Mes instead of Miró Rojo gave the drink something of a darker cast. But I happen to like bitter drinks so this still hits the spot. The recommendation of a Spanish sweet vermouth makes sense as I tend to find them a little bit simpler, so something like my go-to Cocchi di Torino might have had a bit too much going on and muscled out the other ingredients. A more workable twist might be Lustau Rojo, which has a similar profile to the Miró, but adds in some savory notes that could play well against the brandy.

New Cocktails: Rum Dandy Shim

After a bunch of stirred drinks lately, I eventually went looking for a good sour. This one also comes from The Art of the Shim and was originally produced by Craig Lane of the late Bar Agricole. While calling for sweet vermouth, I decided to take it in a different direction by using blanc instead.

 

Rum Dandy Shim

 

1 oz sweet vermouth (I used blanc)

0.5 oz rhum agricole blanc

0.5 oz lime juice

1 tsp cane syrup

2 dashes absinthe

 

Combine all ingredients in a glass half filled with crushed ice, stir briefly to combine, then top with more crushed ice and garnish with lime zest.

 

The aromas are a little muted by all the crushed ice, but I still get lovely notes of rhum and lime. The sip begins sweetly with cane juice and lime, grassy blanc rhum notes rise in the middle, then it becomes bittersweet with cane and vermouth. The finish is driven by the lime and grape notes from the rhum and vermouth.

The weather isn't exactly appropriate for this kind of drink, but I can imagine it will hit the spot even better in the summer. I really like how this takes the basic daiquiri mold and flips it around to produce a drink with almost the same intensity of flavors but much less alcohol. A lot has to be handed to the rhum agricole, which is pretty much the star wherever it goes. I did tip the balance a bit by using the rather potent Rhum J.M. 110, but I think this would still be great with something lighter. If you want to ease back even more, an aged agricole would probably mesh more with a true sweet vermouth instead of brashly pushing the blanc I used aside.

New Cocktails: Reverse Invitation

In my continued exploration of lower proof cocktails, I stumbled upon Collin Nicholas's Invitation via Imbibe. I like that it began as a split base drink, softening the usually brisk Martini format. This made it very amenable to my now standard reverse perfect format.

 

Reverse Invitation

1 oz dry vermouth

1 oz blanc vermouth

1 oz gin

3 dashes Peychaud's bitters

6 drops absinthe

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The aromas are dominated by the licorice of the bitters and Herbsaint, backed up by the dry vermouth and a pleasant citrus note (maybe a good reason to add a lemon twist?). The sip begins balanced between sweet and sour from the vermouths, transitions through and herbal burst of licorice in the middle, which fades into complex bitterness led by the gin. The finish is fairly light and driven by the dry vermouth with a thread of Peychauds.

I have historically found Martini-style drinks to be too bracing, but this really hits the spot. Maybe once I'm back to having full strength drinks this will seem kind of tepid, but right now it does exactly what I want it to do. I was also pleasantly surprised by how well the various licorice-driven ingredients fit into the drink since I often find them overbearing. All in all I would highly recommend this drink in either form.

Classic Cocktails: Reverse Perfect Manhattan

The Manhattan is one of the Ur-classics of the cocktail world - its simple ingredients and proportions encapsulate the late-19th and early-20th century drinks zeigeist in the same way as the Martini. One of the earlier variations was the Perfect Manhattan, using a split of both sweet and dry vermouth to take some of the sweetness out of the drink for those with a drier palate. The Reverse Manhattan (or, perhaps, the Original Manhattan) performs another flip by inverting the proportions to more vermouth than whiskey.

Inspired by an article from Kara Newman and my current search for low(er)-alcohol cocktails, I wondered what would happen if the two variations were put together. Especially with big, flavorful vermouths like Cocchi di Torino, I could imagine the whiskey getting lost. But with a slug of lighter, less rich dry vermouth to keep things in check, maybe the results could be even better. The Diplomat had a similar split of dry and sweet vermouths, though in that case the sweet was acting more as a flavoring agent like the gin in a Reverse Martini. 

 

Perfect Reverse Manhattan

 

0.75 oz dry vermouth

0.75 oz sweet vermouth

0.5 oz American whiskey

2 dashes Angostura bitters

 

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with several cocktail cherries and a smidge of syrup.

 

The aromas are driven by the dry vermouth and inflected with rye spice and grain plus a little roundness from the sweet vermouth and cherries. The sip begins with vermouth and cherry sweetness, sliding through dry vermouth tartness into pleasant bitterness and rye spice towards the back. The finish is Angostura and vermouth bitterness plus a bit of grape roundness in the background.

This turned out exactly the way I hoped it would, with the various components in pleasant balance. Looking at the structure there are a few ways to adjust it to your preferences - the ratios of the vermouths can be tweaked to make it sweeter or drier and differing amounts of syrup can be added with the cherries to provide a different kind of sweetness. However you choose to make it, this is a full-flavored drink with less of a punch to the liver.

Classic Cocktails: The Diplomat

In my attempts to ease back into cocktails and alcohol in general I went searching for low alcohol drinks that were made mostly with vermouth. Thankfully I was gifted a copy of The Art of the Shim a few years ago, which I had largely forgotten about when I was primarily drinking neat spirits.

 

While perhaps apocryphal, the suggestion is that this drink was meant to provide diplomats with something delicious to sip without getting them so deep in their cups that they let the wrong words slip out in front of the wrong people. Whether or not that's true, it absolutely gets the job done.

The Diplomat

 

1.5 oz dry vermouth

0.5 oz sweet vermouth
0.25 oz maraschino liqueur
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for ten seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a strip of lemon peel.

The nose is a pleasant melange of richness from the sweet vermouth, spices from the bitters, and funk from the maraschino, plus some background sourness from the dry vermouth. The sip opens in a balanced fashion between sweet and tart, a pleasantly citrus and apple flavor in the middle, slowly fading into complex bitterness and increasing tartness towards the back. The finish leans into the dry vermouth, with some pleasant bitterness.

This is an incredibly pleasant drink. It makes me think of a reverse Manhattan/Martini style cocktail where a small amount of a more robust spirit is used to modify the base vermouth, but in this case the modifier is also vermouth. As recommended in Shim, you really want a big, robust sweet vermouth - I used Cocchi di Torino, but Carpano Antica or Punt e Mes could work just as well. In tandem with the maraschino they're enough to round out the more tart dry vermouth without completely overwhelming it. The result is refreshing while maintaining a very classic spirit-based profile. Overall I would highly recommend this if you want a full cocktail experience without taxing your liver.

Vermouth Review: Cocchi Dopo Teatro Vermouth Amaro

While Cocchi's Vermouth di Torino has gained ground as a go-to vermouth for many cocktail aficionados, their Dopo Teatro release has been a little more under the radar. Some of this is simply down to price - while the standard di Torino runs ~$20 for a 750 mL bottle, Dopo Teatro is roughly the same price for a 500 mL bottle. While a far cry from the much more expensive Barolo Chinato, Carpano Antica is the only vermouth I can think of at that price point that is regularly mixed.

Dopo Teatro begins on the same base as Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, but additional botanicals including chirètta flowers and more cinchona bark are added to increase the bitterness. The result is bottled at 16.5% ABV.

Cocchi Dopo Teatro Vermouth Amaro

Nose: balanced between sweet, lush wine notes and drier, woodier notes, wine gums, pink bubblegum, strawberry, rhubarb, fresh grass and veggies, vanilla

Taste: rather sweet up front with a tart, citrus-y edge keeping it in check, more bitter citrus and a complex fruitiness around the middle, fading into increased acidity and cinchona bitterness with a touch of vanilla to round it off near the back

Finish: balanced sweetness, acidity, and cinchona bitterness

To me this reads somewhere between the standard di Torino and Punt e Mes, which makes sense given its construction. Its overlap with its less bitter sibling is clear, but at the same time it has the punchier bitterness of Punt e Mes from the extra cinchona. I feel like it handily accomplishes its goal of being closer to an amaro than a traditional vermouth, but that also makes it more dependent on context for me. The standard di Torino is much more approachable with dessert wine character that makes it immediately appealing. Dopo Teatro is somewhat leaner and more focused, much like Punt e Mes, which means that I either need to be in the right mood for it or to use it in a cocktail where its character can be balanced with other ingredients.

In a Negroni the nose is relatively subdued, with fruity notes from the Campari and vermouth, vanilla and lemon, plus hints of something herbal/bitter. The sip opens fairly sweetly with Campari and vermouth sweetness, some creamy vanilla around the middle, a burst of Campari orange extract, then transitioning to unfolding waves of bitterness and black pepper at the back.

While this is undeniably a good Negroni, I don't think the vermouth brings quite enough to the table to justify its price point here. The less expensive Cocchi di Torino puts much more of a unique spin on the drink, whereas the Dopo Teatro tends to hang back. While the extra bitterness is nice, I can get that and more from Punt e Mes, which is also less expensive. Overall I think Dopo Teatro shines most on its own.

Vermouth Review: Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

Cocchi claims that this is original Italian, e.g. sweet vermouth, from the classic cocktail era. I'll leave the detailed history to Haus Alpenz, but it's a claim that gives them fairly big boots to fill.

It uses their own Moscato wine as a base, which is aromatized and colored with a range of botanicals such as cocoa, bitter orange peel, ginger and rhubarb plus cinchona as a primary bittering agent. They also add a small amount of caramelized brown sugar both for sweetness and to add some vanilla notes without using actual vanilla beans. The wine is then bottled at 16% ABV.

Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

Nose: *big* aromas of dry wormwood, rhubarb, fresh mint, dried grasses and herbs, dried ginger, citrus peel, bubblegum, and vanilla in the background

Taste: opens with wine sweetness inflected with rhubarb and a bit of wormwood, gently herbal/grassy in the middle, gains some gentle wood-y bitterness with a touch of vanilla towards the back

Finish: unfolding layers of wormwood, dark chocolate, citrus pith, mint, herbs, and more wine sweetness

I don't feel like it's an exaggeration to say that this is one of the best drinks you can get for the money right now. The aromas and flavors are bold without being unbalanced or feeling artificial in any way. While it's definitely sweet and firmly in a dessert wine mold, there's just enough bitterness to leave you wanting more after the finish.

In a Negroni the aromas remain fairly closed while it's cold, but some richer notes from the vermouth manage to peek out and expand into some wormwood as it warms up. The sip begins with moderate sweetness from the vermouth and Campari, then the middle is dominated by the rich chocolate-y and citrus notes of the vermouth before tumbling into a pool of different types of bitterness at the back. The finish is long and dominated by the juniper notes from the gin.

That is a great drink. This is one of the few vermouths I've had where it really manages to hold its own against the other components. I won't say that it's the best Negroni ever since that's a matter of style, but it's certainly one of my favorites. With that said, I think you want to pair it with a fairly full-bodied gin since something on the lighter, more floral side could end up getting lost.

Vermouth Review: Lustau Vermut Rojo

Lustau is primarily known as a sherry bodega. Odds are if you see sherries at your local grocery store that are higher quality than the bargain basement varieties, they're probably going to be from Lustau. Starting in 2015 they began releasing vermouths in the Spanish style, but with a sherry base rather than the more common fortified wines.

This vermouth is constructed from a combination of ten year old Pedro Ximénez and Amontillado sherries, which are macerated with botanicals including cinnamon, cinchona, gentian, sage, coriander, and orange peel, then blended to form the final product.

Lustau Vermut Rojo

Nose: bright grape sweetness, fresh berries, herbal notes (bay leaf? sage?), orange peel, and drier sherry savoriness

Taste: rather sweet with some balancing acidity through most of the palate until it shifts into a drier sherry mode at the back

Finish: savory sherry, background PX sweetness, gentle cacao bitterness

This takes what I think of as the standard Spanish vermouth formula of fairly strong sweetness only slightly balanced by a bit of wormwood and gentian bitterness and twists it with sherry. While it's never going to become a go-to for me, it's unquestionably pleasant to drink, especially if you want something in more of a dessert wine mode. The savory notes from the amontillado component keep it from being insipid, but it doesn't have enough bitterness to give it the kind of backbone I'm looking for. It is, however, enough to make me want to try their other varieties, as I can imagine the even drier fino sherry component helping to both add complex and tame some of the sweetness.

In a Negroni, the nose is dominated by the lemon peel and the brighter grape notes from the vermouth. The sip begins balanced between Campari and grape sweetness, there's a burst of citrus in the middle, then layers of drier, more bitter notes unfold from there back through the juniper and pepper of the gin, the darker bitterness of the Campari, and a touch of sherry nuttiness at the very back from the vermouth.

I find myself pleasantly surprised by how well this works in a Negroni. While less assertive than some other vermouths, it plays its supporting role quite well, adding sweetness without going over the top and a nice flourish of sherry to bring in some complexity. So while it's not something that I need to have all the time, it might still be worth picking up for mixing rather than straight if you don't already love that really sweet profile.

Vermouth Review: Punt e Mes

Punt e Mes has a (potentially fanciful) history going back to 1870. More important to us today, it was one of the vermouths whose reintroduction alongside stablemate Carpano Antica to the States in during the 2000s was a sign of the cocktail revival.

Personally it was the first vermouth that made me stand up and take notice of it. Before that I had tried sweet vermouths like Vya and Dolin, but none of them really clicked for me. Punt e Mes was what made me go down the rabbit hole and has been the vermouth that I keep coming back to.

Punt e Mes

Nose: dark grape and raisin aromas, herbal and woody notes hiding in the background

Taste: big creamy grape sweetness up front, a crisp citrus twinge around the middle, fading into clean quinine bitterness

Finish: lingering quinine bitterness with a touch of grape

While it doesn't have a lot in the way of complexity, Punt e Mes makes up for it in clear, bold flavors. It has the heft to hold its own against other strong ingredients like Campari, giving a solid bass note to drinks. So while I wouldn't say that it's the best or more complex vermouth available right now, I continue to buy it because it provides such a good foundation for cocktails. The bitterness is clear without being overwhelming, though I can imagine that folks less used to bitter drinks might not agree with me on that last point.

Punt e Mes makes for a big, beefy Negroni. The nose is dominated by the lemon peel and gin, with the other components suppressed as long as the drink stays cold. The sip opens sweetly, but is quickly joined by the gin's bitterness in the middle, which unfolds into more layers of bitterness from the Campari and vermouth. The finish is long and lingers, primarily with quinine from the Punt e Mes.

Honestly, this is a great vermouth. If you've ever wanted more punch to your vermouth-driven drinks, I highly recommend getting a bottle. It also has the advantage of being semi-ubiquitous if you live in a larger metro area. While I can't find it at Safeway yet (though they do have Lillet), most of the higher end grocery stores carry it.

Vermouth Review: Miró Rojo

While vermouth has primarily been associated with Italy and France, Spain has an almost equally deep history of both production and consumption. Over the last handful of years it's become much easier to find these vermouths in the States.

This particular example from the Catalonian town of Reus, southwest of Barcelona. I will leave the details of their history to Haus Alpenz, their American importer. My interest was primarily because it happened to be available in 187 mL bottles at one of my local shops and for $4 I was willing to take a chance on it.

Miró Rojo Vermut de Reus

Nose: bright and vegetal - sweet wine backed up by fresh herbs (oregano?), a tomato-y note, and some gently bitter wormwood

Taste: opens sweet and tart, with medium weight, some fresh herbs, and light wormwood bitterness in the background throughout

Finish: more tart (almost verjus) start, with lingering wormwood

This reminds me a lot of what I remember of Dolin Rouge. They both have a sort of savory character that makes me think of marinara sauce. Given that there are plenty of folks in this world who like Dolin, I suspect that this would do just as well for them, but it's not my cup of tea.

In a Negroni this vermouth is pretty shy - it's basically nowhere to be found in the nose, which is dominated by the gin and Campari. It is equally difficult to find in the opening sip, possibly providing some background character to sweeten and round out the Campari. The drink turns into a one-two punch of Campari up front, with a segue into the gin around the middle, which is rejoined by the Campari at the back.

If that's the kind of Negroni that suits you this may be a decent choice, but I'm used to them made with Punt e Mes, which tends to be on the assertive side. I can envision that it might work better with brown spirits, especially rye where the spiciness and vegetal character could be complementary. But overall it just doesn't have the depth to be something that I would want in my arsenal for making cocktails.