For some drinkers, sweet vermouth is an enigma, a seldom-touched bottle gathering dust on the bottom shelf of the neighborhood liquor store. Based on fragrant moscato wine, this vermouth's depth is evident from the second it touches the lips. The textured herbal bitterness gently pulses against a rich sweetness hued with cocoa, cherry, vanilla, and candied fruit. It's dynamite before a meal with a bit of ice and lemon zest, or afterward neat, as a dessert wine.

Vermouth is a fortified wine, which is a wine that's been "fortified" with a distilled spirit (usually brandy, in the case of vermouth) to raise the alcohol content. Vermouth in particular is also infused with herbs and spices to add a wide variety of flavors. The name comes from vermut, German for wormwood, an herb that's traditionally (but not always) part of the recipe. Sweet vermouth is darker in color and, generally, sweeter than dry vermouth, but each brand uses a different base wine and set of botanicals to create its own signature flavor. Sometimes called Italian vermouth or red vermouth, sweet vermouth doesn't have to come from Italy, and it's actually made from white wine in most cases—the color comes from the botanicals as well as barrel-aging. Nicholas McClelland has written about spirits for Men’s Journal, Fatherly, and Inside Hook. His bar is deep with rare single malts, hard-to-find bourbons, and ryes, but he doesn't believe there's anything too precious to share with friends. We always do our very best to achieve our stated delivery times but please note we can not be responsible for circumstances beyond Tanners control including, but not limited to, adverse weather conditions and supplier and carrier difficulties. Delivery to other areas - additional charges The resulting sweet vermouth has a dark brown hue and rich sweetness, with notes of bitter quinine, orange, herbs, caramel, and baking spices. Punt e Mes is often described as toeing the line between a vermouth and an amaro or bitter liqueur thanks to its strong bitter flavor. It has an ABV of 16%.The Piemonte region in northwestern Italy, centered around the city of Turin, is the historic center of sweet vermouth production. Nestled between France and Switzerland at the foot of the Alps, it has excellent climate for wine grapes as well as easy access to the wild mountain herbs that give vermouth its unique flavor. Local producer Cocchi is dedicated to making wines and aperitifs in the old-fashioned way, and its Vermouth di Torino revived an authentic 19th-century vermouth style that had all but disappeared. A twist on an Italian classic, the Chocolate Negroni sees the addition of Punt e Mes, crème de cacao and chocolate bitters. More Recipes → Please note, whilst the majority of parcels sent on this service are received next day, this is not guaranteed.

The ‘big boy,’ in-your-face nature of Punt e Mes always hits a soft spot for me,” explains Carlton Dunlap of Americano in Portland, Oregon, who similarly uses the vermouth in his Manhattan, dubbed Raining on 110th St. In this wetter take, Punt e Mes is blended with the softer Cocchi di Torino, which stands alongside unconventional additions of coffee tincture and Licor 43, a Spanish liqueur with flavors of citrus and vanilla. The country of origin can give you some clues, but you really have to taste a sweet vermouth to know whether it's for you. Remember that "sweet" is a relative term: The wine has some sweetness, but it also has sour acidity, herbal bitterness, and tannic body. One sweet vermouth might have vanilla and caramel on the palate, while another could feature fruitier strawberry and plum. Like all vermouths, Punt e Mes is made with a base of fortified wine. In the case of Punt e Mes, more than 10 proprietary herbs and spices, including quinine, are added to a dry white wine blend. And can you drink sweet vermouth by itself? Of course you can! It's commonly enjoyed solo either before or after a meal, on ice as an aperitif or neat as a digestif.