Yzaguirre Rojo Vermouth: Cocktail Ingredient or Apéritif?

By Gamliel Kronemer

In the fall of 2008, I had an eye-opening vermouth experience. I was having dinner in a fine-dining restaurant in Tel Aviv with the late Haaretz wine critic Daniel Rogov. While walking past the bar I noticed a bottle of Martini and Rossi Bianco Vermouth on the back bar. At that moment a martini cocktail was quite appealing, so I asked our waitress for a three-to-one martini, straight-up, with a twist. Rogov chuckled and said, “I will be interested to see what she brings.” When she returned I was disappointed, while Rogov was amused, because in place of the cocktail I was yearning for, I received a glass of Martini and Rossi Bianco Vermouth. While tempted to send it back after explaining to the waitress how to make a martini, I decided to simply drink the vermouth. And that is when I realized that good vermouth can be as enjoyable when drinking by the glass as when drinking in a cocktail.

Vermouth—a botanical infused fortified wine— was invented to be an apéritif, a beverage to get the gastric juices flowing before a meal. However, 19th-century American bartenders started adding it to cocktails, and for many classic cocktails it became a key ingredient. As a result, when Americans drink vermouth, they mostly drink it in cocktails. But for much of the world (including Tel Aviv during my visit in 2008, before the recent cocktail renaissance arrived in Israel), vermouth has continued to be primarily an apéritif.

Over the past few years, as the quality and variety of kosher vermouths in the U.S. has increased, there have been a handful of vermouths that could be enjoyable as an apéritif. First there was Jonathan Hajdu’s charming orange-zest driven rosé vermouth, then there were the classically styled Lovatelli vermouths from the Piedmont region of Italy. To that list is now added the kosher edition of Yzaguirre Rojo vermouth, the newest kosher vermouth on the U.S. market.

Founded in 1884, Yzaguirre (pronounced iz-a-gur-i) has long been one of Spain’s leading vermouth producers. The kosher edition of their Rojo (red) vermouth is made from 100% macabeo grapes (one of the main varietals found in Spain’s sparkling wine, cava) grown in the Tarragona region of northern Spain. With a full body, and a cola-like color, this vermouth is somewhat sweeter than its Italian counterparts. Look for a rich bouquet of cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, wormwood and coriander seed. The flavor is dominated by orange at the front of the palate, with cinnamon and allspice dominating the mid-palate, and gentle notes of wormwood and balsamic vinegar at the back of the palate. Well structured, this vermouth has a good balance between sweet and bitter, as well as a smooth and supple mouth feel. (Score A-, $25 for a 1-liter bottle)

I enjoyed this vermouth on its own, served chilled in a wine glass. I also enjoyed it in cocktails. It made a made a good Manhattan (two parts Bourbon to one part vermouth, with a dash of angostura aromatic bitters, stirred and served in a tumbler with ice) and made an even better Boulevardier (equal parts bourbon, Luxardo Bitter Rosso and vermouth, stirred and served in a tumbler with ice).

Being a fortified wine, vermouth will stay for about a month in the refrigerator before its quality will start to noticeably deteriorate. 

So, the next time you are looking for something a little bit different (that you can also use in cocktails), pick up a bottle of vermouth. You won’t regret it.