Episode 004

Sweet Vermouth

This cocktail ingredient is INCREDIBLY important. I cannot overstate that. Sweet Vermouth, as we mentioned briefly in episode 1, is a type of fortified wine that is infused with the flavor of other herbs, roots, and spices to become sweet and complex.

Some of my personal favorite cocktails call for sweet vermouth. The Manhattan, the Negroni, the Boulevardier, the Vieux Carre, the Martinez, and many, many more.

I’ll make brand recommendations in a bit, but the most important thing to note here…and I’m sure I’ll say this many more times in future episodes…is REFRIGERATE YOUR VERMOUTH. If you leave it on the bar after you open it, it will oxidize and taste nasty.

The end.

Moving on to Bottle #8: Blanc (or White) Vermouth

Blanc (White) Vermouth

This is perhaps my most controversial bottle. And as you’ll recall, I never really gave a good answer for why I cut dry vermouth from my 12 bottle bar.

To tell the truth, I just think Blanc vermouth tastes better across the board. It’s mellower, more floral, and a bit sweeter than dry vermouth, which is going to complement most gins quite nicely, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, I think its flexibility will encourage you to experiment more than a dry vermouth will.

Part of building your bar and learning about cocktails is developing the bravery to go “Off-Recipe,” kind of like taking a scenic detour. Taking the road less traveled. I know that, starting out, you’ll probably cling to those recipes pretty hard—and that’s great! The recipe is the recipe for a reason—because it’s tastes good. But then gradually, the “what ifs” will start to creep in.

What if I change the ratio of whiskey to vermouth? What if I shake instead of stir? What about lemon juice instead of lime juice? And if you pursue some of these “what ifs,” you’re going to make some nasty drinks.

This is all a long way of saying, I think Blanc vermouth is going to result in LESS of these duds, and therefore will encourage you to keep experimenting and keep trying to put your own spin on the classics, which is one of the great joys of bartending.

Brand recommendations to come, moving on now to bottle #9: Orange Liqueur

Orange Liqueur

Starting with the most basic definition, liqueurs are sweetened cocktail mixers that generally contain less alcohol by volume than spirits, but more alcohol than vermouths or fortified wines. They sort of inhabit that middle ground between wine and liquor.

Orange liqueur is exactly what it seems to be. It’s sweet, it’s orangie, and it’s delicious. The three major types are Triple Sec, Curacao, and Aged Stuff. Now, again, it’s VERY easy to get into the weeds here. But I’ll save that for another episode and say that you should probably start with an inexpensive bottle and work your way up, tasting at bars whenever you find a bartender who’s willing to pour you a little sample.

Turning our attention now to bottle #10, we’ll find our second liqueur, and that’s Amaro.

Amaro/Amari

Now, if you think there are a lot of orange liqueurs on the market, the world of Amari (which is the plural of Amaro) will make your head spin. I was lucky enough to take a seminar on classic and modern Amari at last year’s Tales of the Cocktail conference, and I was simply blown away by the sheer variety and complexity of these products on today’s market.

By definition, an Amaro is a bitter liqueur or Aperitif. And in fact, our three final bottles all have something directly bitter about them. And that’s okay. Bitterness actually plays a really important role in cocktails, and actually serves to balance them out in many cases, instead of making them unpalatable in any way.

I’d recommend starting your adventure in the world of Amari after tasting a cocktail that someone more experienced has made using a particular amaro. You’re either going to like it, or you won’t, but once you find one you like, you’re probably going to get the itch to run to the liquor store and pick up a bottle.

So, again here, maybe not one of the first bottles you pick up, but Amaro is going to be a force multiplier in the number of cocktails you can make with the other bottles on your bar. Whereas Gold Rum, for example, on the original 12 Bottle Bar list, wasn’t really going to give you too many more options.

Bitters

Finally, I’m going to speak about our final two bottles (#11 and #12) in the same breath here. And those are Aromatic and Orange Bitters.

Bitters are a flavor extract, and they contain something known as a bittering agent, which is just one or more ingredients in that extract that make it taste bitter. These are some of the same ingredients used in Vermouths and Amari, but perhaps at a more potent concentration.

Aromatic Bitters are going to be spicy, dark, and complex. Whereas Orange bitters are going to be lighter, brighter and just primed for use with gin. I’ll get into brand recommendations in just a second here.

So. To Review:

The goal of putting together a basic 10 or 12 bottle bar is to be able to make the most different and delicious cocktails with the most trimmed down and versatile collection of spirits and mixers. And the nice thing is, if you’re smart about your purchases, you certainly don’t need to pick up all of these ingredients at once.

So IF you’re looking to ease your way in, here are my recommendations of the five bottles to pick up first. My essential 5-bottle bar would be:

1. Whiskey (Bourbon or Rye)
2. Gin
3. Bitters (Aromatic and/or Orange)
4. Orange Liqueur
5. Sweet Vermouth

You can go a long way using those ingredients, and what will happen is, as time goes on, you’ll come across a recipe that sounds amazing, and then you’ll realize you can’t make it with what you currently have on your bar…but you only need to go out and pick up a SINGLE ingredient, as opposed to multiple ingredients. So, instead of making a whole production out of it, you’ve got one stop to make on your way home from work tomorrow, and then you’re ready to rock and roll.

So, listen everybody, I know that was a LOT of information. I’m throwing all these recommendations and flavor notes at you, and it’s hard sometimes to figure out where to actually start building your bar or bar cart. Just know that you can always email podcast@modernbarcart.com if you have any particular questions, and we’ll do our best to steer you in the right direction.

To close out this episode, I’m going to rattle through some brand recommendations so that you can make informed decisions as you stock up your own 12 Bottle bar. And I’ll try and hit 3 price points (inexpensive, middle of the road, and premium), which I’ll refer to as “Bottom Shelf, Middle Shelf, and Top Shelf,” respectively.

For American whiskey, a great (and very approachable) bottom shelf rye is Old Overholt, and a good bottom shelf bourbon would be either Jim Beam or Evan Williams. For the middle shelf, I’d go with the Bulleit brand, and they make a really nice rye and Bourbon. Rye is the green label, and bourbon is the orange label for them. And for top shelf, I’d go with Michter’s Rye, and maybe a nice high-proof bourbon like Booker’s or Noah’s Mill.

For Scotch Whisky, bottom shelf would be a Johnny Walker Red, or a Cutty Sark. Both are blended scotches. Middle shelf, would probably again be blended scotch—this time either a Famous Grouse or a Monkey Shoulder. And for top shelf, you’ll want to get into Single Malts, which requires a working knowledge of scotch. Have your friendly local bartender or that one guy you know who loves Scotch teach you the basics. Personally, Laphroiag and MaCallan are my go-to top shelf brands.

For Gins, you’ve got a lot of options. Bottom Shelf, I’d go with New Amsterdam gin. It’s inexpensive and a great starter gin for pretty much any classic cocktail. For your middle shelf, I’d go with Bombay Sapphire for similar reasons, and because you can get a great deal on a handle of it if you live in a state where Costco is licensed to sell spirits. Finally, for the Top Shelf, I’m going to recommend my absolute FAVORITE gin, and that is the Botanist, which comes to us from Scotland, interestingly enough.

For Brandies and Cognacs, I’ll recommend E&J as your bottom shelf. Very inexpensive, and very consistent. For your middle shelf, I’ll recommend a brand I’ve found and fallen in love with called “Maison Rouge” – French for Red House. This is actually a VSOP Cognac, so very high quality, and it sells for less than $30 a bottle here in Washington, D.C. For top shelf here, you can’t really go wrong with a nice Courvoisier VSOP or XO, but there are a lot of less-well-known names that might actually be better at the same price. See if you can find someone knowledgeable to walk you through the brands, but only if you’re really confident in the quality of your liquor store.

For Rum, Cruzan is a good bottom shelf white option, and Bacardi Black is fairly inexpensive. For your middle shelf, I’d go with anything from Mount Gay, OR, if you’re looking for spiced rum, Sailor Jerry’s. If you want to spend a lot of money on Rum, most whites aren’t going to be all that expensive, but some of the longer-aged dark rums can cost a pretty penny. This is again an area where you’ll want to either do your research beforehand, or see if you can find someone knowledgeable to help you make your expensive selection.

For Vodka, bottom shelf doesn’t mean it has to come in a plastic handle. Again here, go with New Amsterdam. Middle Shelf would be something like a Svedka or a Ketel One. And Top Shelf would be a Belvedere or Grey Goose…I guess. Vodka’s one of those spirits where you get drastically diminishing returns after the middle shelf, so especially if you’re mixing, don’t bother with the expensive imported stuff. If you want to buy an expensive bottle of vodka, at least try to find something local and help support your local distillers.

For vermouths, Martini & Rossi is going to be your bottom shelf option across the board. Your middle shelf option is going to be Dolin, and this is the brand of sweet and blanc vermouth that I have most commonly on my bar. And for top shelf vermouth, I’d recommend Carpano Antica as your sweet vermouth and Lillet Blanc as your white vermouth.

For Orange Liqueur, bottom shelf would be Bols or Dekuyper. For middle shelf, I’d recommend Cointreau or Gran Gala. And for top shelf, go with my favorite – Grand Marnier – or splurge on a bottle of real Curacao (not the blue stuff).

For your Amaro, there are no real bottom shelf options. Most of these are imported and don’t get cheaper than $30. If you want to start with a nice mild amaro, go with an Amaro Montenegro, or a bottle of Aperol. If you want a middle-of-the-road Amaro, go with a bottle of Campari, which is used in two really excellent cocktails—the Negroni and the Boulevardier—or a bottle of Cynar (CHEE-nar). You’ll really impress people if you pronounce that one correctly. Finally, if you really want a challenge, pick up a bottle of Fernet, which is one of the most bracingly bitter flavors out there, but it has a really strong cult following, especially within the beverage industry.

Finally, for bitters, you probably know I’m a bit biased on this front, since I’m responsible for a cocktail bitters brand called Embitterment. BUT, I’ll try to stay objective here. For bottom shelf aromatic bitters, go with Angostura or Peychaud’s. These are solid bitters, inexpensive, and many classic cocktails actually call for them by Name. For bottom shelf Orange bitters, go with Regan’s. For your middle shelf, I’d recommend Embitterment, which you can pick up on modernbarcart.com. Full disclosure, I make these bitters. We have a creole-style Aromatic bitters, which is similar in flavor profile to Peychaud’s and is great for those classic New Orleans cocktails, as well as for your Old Fashioneds and Manhattans. And we make a really great Orange bitters using fresh orange peel, dried orange peel, and a TON of fresh ginger, which really accentuates those essential oils extracted from the peel. Embitterment’s goal is to offer top-shelf quality at a middle-shelf price, and that’s why it’s my middle shelf recommendation. For Top Shelf, you’re not going to find too many traditional Aromatic or Orange bitters, so feel free to experiment with flavors that may be Barrel-aged or slightly experimental. Changing your bitters around is a simple and effective way to learn the nuances of your favorite cocktails and spirits.

Did I mention that our bitters are now USDA Organic certified?

So, there you have it. The 12 bottles I think everyone should have on their bar or bar cart, complete with brand recommendations across three price points.

I hope this information has been helpful, and I hope it’s not intimidating to you that we’re just scratching the surface. We’ve got a ton more to talk about, and the bottles in this episode are going to come back again and again as we become more familiar with cocktails and start to build our bar carts.

A few quick things before I take off:

1. Be sure to check out our show notes for links to resources like the 12 Bottle Bar that were mentioned today. Just visit modernbarcart.com/podcast and search for this episode.
2. As you build out your bar, tag us on social media and show off your boozy purchases. We always love to hear from you, so you can either tag or mention @modernbarcart on Instagram, or if you’d like to stalk me personally, you can to follow and tag @quixologist. We’re also, of course, on Facebook as well, so search for us there and maybe throw a “Like” our way.
3. Three, if you like what you’ve heard so far, please let me know! Go to wherever you listen to podcasts and send us your thoughts. A nice five-star rating never hurts, but that’s for you to decide.
4. If you have any questions about this topic, or any other cocktail-related topic, please send them my way be emailing podcast@modernbarcart.com. In some cases, I may even follow up with you and ask your permission to use your question on the show.