The first records of distilled grains spirits appeared in Ireland and Scotland in the 1400’s. Over time, these spirits became known as whiskey, which is the anglicized version of the Gaelic word uisce beatha (Ish-ca Baa-ha) which means water of life. English colonization spread whiskey making it to both Canada and the United States and the types of whiskey they made evolved based on the grains that grew well in those climates and soils. Before the 1800’s, whiskey was largely stored in barrels simply for transportation. But, around the turn of the 19th century, people noticed that whiskey stored in barrels had a better flavor and aroma and so began purposefully aging whiskey before selling it. As distilling technology improved, it expanded the variety of whiskey styles that could be made to match the preferences of the drinking public.
While vermouths and aromatized wines can be made anywhere in the world, their historic homes are in Torino, Italy and Spain as well as Chambéry and Marseilles, France.
Because vermouth and aromatized wines are broadly defined by a few simple factors such as color, sugar content, and one or two primary ingredients, there is an incredible variety of flavors to choose from.
Vermouth is primarily categorized by its sugar content:
-Extra dry is anything with less than 30g/l of sugar
-Dry is anything less than 50g/l
-Sweet (both white and red) are those above 130g/l.
While the EU requires vermouth to include wormwood the US does not so most American made “vermouths” are actually aromatized wines without wormwood.
Aromatized wines are often made by using neutral spirits to extract the botanical flavors which are added later to the base wine and sugar. Some aromatized wines will also add caramel coloring at this point to darken the color. Once combined, these mixtures are often left to rest in a stainless steel vat or exhausted barrel. After the rest period, the aromatized wine is lightly filtered and bottled.
An aromatized wine that is flavored primarily with wormwood and a variety of other botanicals. Vermouth gets its name from the German word for wormwood, wermut. Vermouth can be made with either white or red wine as its base and is usually fortified with the addition of neutral brandy, to increase its stability and shelf life. Vermouth also has added sugar, though the amount can vary from as little as 27g/l for extra dry to 190g/l for sweet.
Pronounced ken-KEE-na, quinquina is a style of aromatized wine that is flavored with chinchona bark, which is the original source of quinine. Some early quinquinas were originally intended for the French foreign legion in Algeria. Americano: An Italian style of aromatized wines with increased bitterness from the addition of gentian and wormwood. Americano’s name comes from amer, the Italian root word for bitterness.
An aromatized wine made by infusing barolo wine with quinine and other botanicals. Barolo chinato (pronounced kee-NOT-oh) began in the 19th century as a tonic to cure various ailments, but today is largely enjoyed as an after dinner digestive.
Any wine served before a meal meant to open the appetite. Traditionally, many aperitif wines were aromatized with herbs that were thought to be good for the stomach or digestion.