Vermouth, French Italian

Brandy is added to raise the alcohol content of vermouth to a specified limit. The base wine, brandy, spice extract, and sugar syrup are combined according to a proprietary formula appropriate for each type of vermouth. For Italian vermouths, extracts are prepared by soaking the herbs and spices (7-11 g/L) in highly rectified alcohol ( 85%). For a darker color, after flavoring, caramel may be added. In French vermouth, fewer herbs and spices are used. The spice mixture of (4-8 g/L) is typically infused for flavor development, to avoid the uptake of undesirable herbaceous flavors. 

Amerine et ah, 1980). Vermouths are typically classified as sweet (Italian) or dry (French). In the Italian version, the alcohol content can vary from 15% to 17%, with 12-15% sugar. French versions have 18% alcohol with 4% reducing sugar. Dry vermouth contains less herb and spice extract than the sweeter vermouth—about 3.74-5.62 mL/L for dry, and 5.62-7.49 mL/L for sweet (Amerine et al., 1980 Panesar et ah, 2010). 

Both sweet and dry versions are used as aperitifs, with French vermouth used in martinis, while Italian vermouths are used in manhattans (Edmunds, 1998 Kauffman, 2001). In the middle of nineteenth century, the north of Italy, mainly around Turin, and the Chambery district of France become established centers of herb production for vermouth. 

A white wine flavored with wormwood or other herbs such as anise, cinnamon, bitter orange peel, cloves, and elderberries. There are two types (1) a dark or reddish, richly flavored (sweet) Italian variety and (2) a pale yellow or light, dry French variety. Vermouth can be used as a liqueur or in cocktails. 

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