It’s
been a long time since I’ve invited vermouth to share these pages
with us, and it’s strange that it should be now, so soon after a
visit to this brand’s country of origin, Italy. Surely I could have
picked up a cheap one over there? Well, I never thought of it. I had
a quick look at other products in Duty Free, but I felt rushed and
didn’t end up committing to anything. After a couple of days back
at home, I was in Sainsburys and saw this 15% ABV brand for £5.50.
That seemed reasonable – and it turns out a good couple of quid
cheaper than it’s available on TWE and MoM – even before P&P.
The
bottle actually sat untouched on my shelf for a good few months
before one day I ran out of beer, and needed something to replace it
as my Saturday afternoon treat. There had been other opportunities
before, but I hadn’t made any ice for a while.
Vermouth
in the main is nothing special. I tend to think of it as a decent
drink for giving you a bit of a buzz – like having a beer, really;
when you don’t want a wine or to mix a cocktail. As such you can’t
expect much, but I have to say the Cinzano Bianco has turned out to
be something of a disappointment. I’d always assumed this was one
of the better brands – for no other reason than it’s one
everyone’s heard of (when was that a reliable indicator
anyway?), so I was surprised to find it’s not as good as the
Martini varieties I’ve tried, and probably on a level with
certain unbranded ones from Aldi or Lidl. The enduring impression is
of a slight but pervasive bitterness and sadly, I don’t have much
to say about it.
And that's it for this week! Next week I think I'm going to be looking at the obscure Mexican spirit of sotol, so you won't want to miss that.
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