How to enjoy all the flavours of a good vermouth

How many times, when ordering vermouth at a bar, have you been served a lovely cool drink on ice with a slice of orange? Almost always, right? Ice, olives and orange slices, not to mention a good squirt directly from the soda syphon are frequently associated with the drinking of vermouth. So much so, that it is difficult to remove them without feeling that your glass of vermouth is kind of naked. But did you ever try vermouth neat? Because that’s exactly what we recommend for our Padró & Co. range. We suggest drinking the vermouths chilled from the fridge, without ice and without any additional bits or bobs. Why is that? Because we believe that the quality of our vermouth merits your attention, without distractions. We monitor the entire vermouth-making process from start to finish, picking the grapes in our own vineyards and making the base wine ourselves. We also monitor the quality of our botanicals, sourcing directly from their countries of origin to ensure we are working with maximum purity and quality at all times. That’s not forgetting the barrel-ageing process, which is when the special nuances of each vermouth come into play and the final touches in character are acquired. Vermouth, like any wine product, should be stored in the refrigerator once opened, in order to keep oxidation to a minimum. However, just as a wine needs to be drunk at its ideal temperature, so it is with vermouth. So, if you are ready for that drink but your vermouth is too warm, just pour it over some stainless steel (or any other) reusable ice cubes which will cool the vermouth but leave no water residue. The quality of a drink will usually dictate the number of ingredients we can add to the glass. Does a good whiskey or bourbon, for example, require additional flavours? Surely not, and we would not think of dressing them up. So, in the same way, a good vermouth doesn’t really need anything beyond a nice cool temperature. No ice, no olives, no fruit and no soda water. If we really enjoy our vermouth on the rocks with an olive and a slice of orange, are we committing a crime? Of course not, but we will not be tasting the true essence of the vermouth. The ice will cause the botanicals to dilute so we won’t appreciate them with the same intensity, the olive will add saltiness and the fruits will throw in their own flavours. The drink will be very different to the sensory experience that we aim for with our Padró & Co. vermouths each and every time you open one of our colourful bottles.