The Truth About Vermouth

Most of us know vermouth as a cocktail ingredient. It is also, technically, wine: an aromatized, fortified wine flavored with botanicals such as citrus peel, star anise, basil, thyme and wormwood.

The name comes from wermut, the German word for wormwood. Vermouth is a close cousin of the Hungarian and German wines infused with wormwood, the herb that gives it its signature bitter flavor.

Treat it like wine

Because vermouth is wine, handle it as wine. An open bottle can start going bad in about four to six weeks, so keep it in the refrigerator, not in the liquor cabinet with the bourbon. You can cook with it as you would with wine, though it gives a stronger flavor. And like wine, you can drink it on its own.

Today vermouth is a drink for the glass. It started out as a medicine.

A history of healing

Herbalists have a saying: what is bitter to the tongue is sweet to the stomach. Vermouth's bitterness was put to medicinal use long before it was a bartender's staple. According to ancient Greek history, early versions of vermouth were used by the physician Hippocrates, who prescribed it for ailments including jaundice, rheumatism and anemia.

The credit goes to wormwood, the herb behind the bitterness. It is classed as:

• a vermifuge, used to rid the body of intestinal worms and parasites
• a cholagogue, often used to treat liver and gallbladder problems
• a febrifuge, a substance used to reduce fever
• an emmenagogue, which improves fertility

A cure-all, almost.

An aperitivo to remember

In the 1800s, Jerry Thomas, the "father of American mixology," popularized the practice of creating mixed alcoholic drinks. Thanks to him, vermouth is a key ingredient in classic cocktails such as the Manhattan, the Americano and the Negroni.

Traditionally, though, vermouth was served on its own. Try it da solo and see if you can pick out the botanicals that give each bottle its own taste.

Neat or mixed, vermouth makes a great aperitivo. Think of aperitivo as the Italian answer to happy hour. Happy hour can mean a few quick drinks with friends before 7 p.m. Aperitivo is a slower ritual, shared around a table with loved ones before a meal. The word comes from the Latin aperire, to open, and the idea is to stimulate the appetite: it gets the digestive juices going and tells the brain it is time to eat.

The taste of Torino

Some believe vermouth began in Spain or France. Historical documents point to northern Italy: the modern version, made with botanicals in addition to wormwood, originated in Torino, the capital of Piemonte, in the 16th century.

Eataly's ties to Torino run deep. Our first store opened in an abandoned vermouth factory there.