There are plenty of vermouths on the market, and while Carpano Antica has captured a large amount of the market’s imagination, it also isn’t without it’s detractors. Among the complaints are that the vanilla in Carpano is overwhelming to drinks. Enter Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, which prides its self on not using vanilla in it’s formulation. Instead, they use fire browned sugar, herbs, and spices to make their sweet vermouths. So how does it work out?
Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
Sight: A shiny, bright mahogany with deep caramel elements around the edge.
Smell: Herbs, caramelized sugars, and bright pops of fruit lead off the nose. The fruit gradually moves from fragrant to dried, pulling in notes of caramelized dates, raisins, and figs. The dried fruits have an almost baked in brown sugar character to them. The sweetness mixed with garigue like herbs gives a slightly more savory smell than might be expected. There is also a hint of nuttiness.
Sip: The sip starts of slightly sweet, and becomes increasingly bright. There’s a middling feel to it’s weight. Notes of bright red currants and orange marmalade jump out and are coated in caramel and herbs. There’s an almost stone fruit like character to some of the fruit, and a slight dull bitterness like citrus pith toward the edge.
Savor: The citrus pith like edge and herbal notes team up on the finish to provide a lingering bitterness over a caramel like sweetness.
Cocchi Vermouth di Torino is light, lively, caramelized, and packed with fruity notes. The sweetness of the style is what immediately stands out, but there’s a lot of fruit and herbal notes to back it up. The pops of acidity really give it a vibrance, and the evolution of the flavors from fresh to dried to baked gives it a layered character. The result is a vermouth that’s fun to sip on it’s own.
In Cocktails
While Carpano Antica has found love, the purportedly original style of vermouth associated with the Manhattan was vermouth di Torino. Cocchi Vermouth di Torino does nicely in a Manhattan, allowing the bourbon or rye to play the lead. This more gentle approach means something like Wild Turkey 101 is going to provide spice and oak characteristics in the forefront, while allowing the caramel and fruitiness to end as backup singers in the group. When compared to a more gentle bourbon, like Maker’s Mark, this means that Cocchi has a opportunity to provide more herbal and fruit forward notes, while providing sweetness. As a result, it makes a better vermouth for drinks like the Negroni or Income Tax Cocktail.
In Review – Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
Cocchi Vermouth di Torino used to occupy the top spot on my bar for vermouths. It’s elegant enough to work in almost everything, even if it can’t always stand up to the liquor bases. What reduced my overall impression is bottle to bottle variability. In general the bottles are good, but I’ve experienced two clunkers in a batch of twelve. My father has had a similar experience. While I still keep it around, and believe it’s a great value at $20 for a $750 (what you’d pay for one 375ml of Carpano!), be aware there can be some apparent quality control issues. Despite this, we still recommend it as one of the best vermouths to use and start your home bar with, because when it’s made right it’s simply charming.