A Pairing for Pizza: Vermouth

Used to be beer, a nice cold one. The cheaper the better. At some point I graduated to red wine. But ever since the birth of our second child, I've had little appetite for reds. So, where does that leave us? What drink does one make for pairing with the time honored tradition of Friday night pizza? A quick daiquiri for Taco Tuesdays is fine. And Rose is still my favorite with Quiche Lorraine, which we tend to make on weekly basis around here, (oh, not from scratch, relax. Pre-made from the deli-counter, thank you.)

Get in My verMouth!

It became quite obvious one night as I dug down deep into the farthest reaches of my psyche, a slice of Hawaiian in hand. I closed my eyes tightly, and ask my most inner self, "What do I feel like drinking this very moment? What would compliment my pizza's saltiness with balance and perfection?" I waited a few seconds until the answer bubbled up inside me like a fricking magic eight ball. Vermouth! It was decidedly so.

The Science

Vermouth & Tonic: Like your friendly wine spritzer got a backbone.

So what exactly IS vermouth anyway, you ask? Aside from being a crucial element in any bar, playing a major supporting role in many of our most well known and beloved cocktails, such as the Martini, the Manhattan, the Negroni, (the list is a mile long, truly,) vermouth, sweet or dry, is a fortified wine (meaning a neutral spirit like grape brandy has been added to it boosting it's ABV to between 13-24%) and further flavored or aromatized with herbs, barks, spices, and other botanicals.

Sweet Vermouth!

I'm sticking with the sweet stuff in this post, b/c after weeks of research, that's what went best with pizza. Nowadays there is quite a variety of producers in the marketplace that one no longer has to rely on the big names like Martini or Tribuno. Living in DC, we even have the opportunity to try out local producers, like Capitoline. People love to tinker, and bless them for it, we end up with a vast and nuanced selection of flavors and pairings to choose from.

Vermouth & Tonic No.1

2 oz. Sweet Vermouth
3-4 oz. Bitterman's grapefruit tonic water
2 dashes orange bitters
2 wheel slices of orange

V&T No.2, like a glass of sunshine, which we could really use these days.

Build in a large wine glass over ice. For the vermouth, you can try a classic favorite of ours Carpano Antica Formula, it's the other sweet vermouth you'll usually find at a liquor store. If you're feeling adventurous, split the vermouth; 1 oz Carpano Antica and the other 1 oz. Punt e Mes, which is a slightly more bitter and woodsy vermouth.
This one is easy to make as a wine spritzer but with a little more edge and personality.

V&T No.2

2 oz. Blanc or White Vermouth
3-4 oz. Fever Tree tonic water
2 dashes orange bitters
1 wheel slice of grapefruit
Build in a large wine glass over ice.
Capitoline's white vermouth is a delicately sweet and citrusy one, with notes of cinnamon, saffron, and mint. If you've never checked out some of the higher end tonics out there today, we recommend giving them a try. The flavor is substantially better than what you remember from what those plastic soda guns at the bar used to spit out.

The Americano

1.5 oz. Campari

The Americano: Surprisingly, I didn't even miss the gin! 

1.5 oz. Sweet vermouth
2-3 oz. Club soda
Orange wheel garnish
Like a lighter-weight negroni, these go down all too easy; but most importantly, a nice pairing with pizza.

Give one of these easy recipes a try next Friday and let us know what you think in the comments. You won't be disappointed. Another nice quality of these drinks is that they are all have a lower ABV (alcohol by volume.) So if some of our other offerings on this blog have been a bit too stiff, or maybe you just want to take a little easier one night, try a vermouth cocktail. This supporting star deserves it's time to shine and be the main ingredient for a night or two.