Showing posts with label Turin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turin. Show all posts

Monday, July 19, 2010

PONTI VERMOUTH ROSSO DI TORINO


Ponti Vermouth

Most folks know vermouth more as something to put in a mixed drink than something to sit and sip.  I tried sipping a red vermouth, and enjoyed it very much.

Vermouth is a fortified wine, usually infused with brandy, and usually running about the same sort of alcohol number as Port.  The Ponti I sipped is 16% abv.  Vermouth can be dry – white vermouth is dry, and it's sometimes called French vermouth – or sweet.  Red, or rosso, is sometimes called Italian vermouth.

Spices and herbs are the big ingredients that give vermouth its unusual and lively character.  Wormwood – the stuff of absinthe – is one of the leading herbs in vermouth.

I sipped it straight up, on the rocks and chilled.  The iced version got diluted quickly and straight up neat it seemed a little brash.  Chilled is definitely my choice for vermouth.  The Italian rosso vermouth I tried is a sweet vermouth about which I can find almost nothing online.  That's usually not a good sign, but in this case the proof is in the tasting.  It comes from Turin, in the Piedmont region.

The color of the Ponti vermouth is a dark, dull red, almost nut brown.  The tinge around the edges is a whiskey brown color.  The nose is a delight: burnt caramel raisins is an aroma I'd like to smell everyday.  On the palate, a very familiar taste appears, one I had a bit of trouble identifying.  It's reminiscent of Blackjack gum, something I may not have had since childhood.  Clove and cinnamon mingle with charred candy flavors and coffee.  The finish reminds me of a marshmallow burnt over a campfire.  There is a lot of sweetness here, but the spice profile puts enough of a bitter spin on it that it does not seem overly sugary.

In Europe – particularly Spain – vermouth is customarily sipped straight up, especially before dinner.  I'm told that many bars have it on tap.  I like it this way, although the intensity of the flavors does become a little burdensome if I drink much more than half my usual wine serving.