Vermouth In Veritas

Cocchi Vermouth

I’m the last one who tries to dredge-up old curiosities. Some things, I agree, do not need anymore banal representation; or more importantly, any bit of hypertensive nostalgia that currently, our abecedarian youth is rendering into their own representative logo. Strange...because I can’t help but see future classes of pre-grads allowing posthumous pop-imagery to guide them in keeping the future world turning on-axis. I’m being too harsh, because I’m just as guilty for digging-up remembrances of past times, but the prime difference between me and those who are somewhat younger, is that I lend a little bit more exposure to the treasures of my childhood rather than someone else’s. Sure, I had an affinity for those old poster reprints you can still buy during the first week of a freshman college semester, but I know the “Le Chat Noir” and Salvador Dali are long dead; they leave, if anything, a more fatuous legacy now. In more important retrospects, do you remember the old Noilly Prat posters and the hat-conscious lady who smiles with a bourgeois grin for Martini & Rossi? Of course, because she has just as easily become a piece of sustainable Americana. Though the ads were foreign-born, we’ve understood the tangible enjoyments in these type of things; whether it’s communicative art, thirst, or both, these entities have become partially obscured. However, a deeper, much more delicious interest awakens. 

What if I said there’s an actual “Indication,” or “Denomination” of origin for Vermouth? Would you believe me? Faithless or not, you now have a sensible means of enjoying one thing that could dispel some age-old uncertainties. It’s not white, dry, or red exactly, but is accurately on the sweet side. “Cocchi” is not the style, but rather, the name of the producer whose resurrection of the drink, is based somewhere within a long-due anniversary; with recipes dating to 1891, questions as to why it has not outdone some obvious competitors, is mysterious enough for anybody. Amber in color, it delivers on some particularly unexpected nuances. Tobacco, chocolate, savory orange and bitter undertones regulate an otherwise sweet profile usually suggested in the Moscato grapes that temper its overall sultriness. Moreover, the varietal is from Asti, which is something unsurprising, considering the lure of Piedmont’s most notable “frizzante” sparkler. Would I call it a dessert wine ? No, please do not think of it as a “dessertif” either. Still, I might give off a certain air of pretension for saying it, but, above all, I, and the people who live in Torino Italy, would be furious if it was viewed as something of an after-dinner plaything. Practically speaking, it has a slight “Amaro” style finish, but the unholy labeling of it as a “digestivo” could be equally baffling. Credit to those who enjoy it on their own terms, regardless of naming.  

Aperol Bitters

The Cocchi brand mainly dwells in a golden-colored Apertivo that arrived in the U.S. as of late, but as “Americano” is significantly more quenching than anticipated, we can see where this is all going. The recent arrival of “Aperol” and other overseas breakthroughs, are crashing though North America’s ice cube barrier; ideally, some interesting stuff is being poured into the tube glasses of younger, but mostly unsuspecting contemporaries. To become obsessed by spritzy, liquor-driven concoctions of Prosecco and much sweeter tidbits, is nothing recent, but I would bank on the success of the resurgent Vermouth.                 

One relief, more or less, is knowing that our next of kin may actually see the appeal in the ancestral mention of “Manhattans” and someone aptly called, “Rob Roy.” I have good feelings about the future of re-occurring drinkables, but the driving force behind them, are nothing but fashionable ideas in the poorest of virtues. I’ve been eagerly informed that sweets, or bitters still do not account for the most popular agents used to make a cocktail. These days, the mischievous aspects of my ‘palate-to-brain’ function of thought, have me wondering what the problem would be in using something lawfully designated, but still twisting beyond some realm of time-honored craftsmanship and popularity.  

Let’s make a compulsory gesture to the good future of Vermouth.     

Brian Maniotis

Westchester Wine Warehouse Team

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