Esquire magazine has a series called Man at His Best (MaHB), and this month’s MaHB made a truly brilliant point: drink fortifed wine-based cocktails.  The point of this piece is that fortified wines (vermouth, sherry, etc.) contain much less alcohol than actual liquor, but tons of flavor.  While Esquire cites these drinks as a good way to wind the night down without problems (certainly a good idea), I think vermouth and its friends are good to remember all the time.

Many ingredients fit into the category of lower alcohol content, but I’m going to focus a bit on vermouth because every bar has it, and I think it is pretty foolproof.  How did I have time to experiment with much vermouth-based mixology since Esquire came out (vermouth’s not THAT low in alcohol)?  Not to worry – I had discovered the drinks much earlier, thanks to my 1935 edition Old Mr. Boston Bartender’s Guide.

My go-to bartender's guide, which belonged to EE's great-grandfather. A gift from her grandmother.

(Let’s pause to emphasize that when I talk about vintage or “classic” cocktails, I mean it.  I do primary research, and there are no hyperlinks here.  I wasn’t a history major for nothing.)

You see, back in the day, vermouth was not only more common than the much sugarier ingredients I often see listed today, but it was also used very liberally.  Many drinks go like this:

1/2 Dry Vermouth

1/2 some liquor (gin, absinthe, whiskey, brandy)

dash bitters

Then, the brilliant part is they’d switch the dry vermouth out for sweet and give the drink a new name.  My personal favorites, however are those that just include both.  We’ll call this cocktail the Easy Does It:

Easy Does It

1/3 Dry vermouth

1/3 Sweet Vermouth

1/3 Gin

dash Absinthe

Obviously, the gin in the cocktail above is high in alcohol content, but you can make that drink with each ingredient being less than an ounce, shake it with ice and have roughly a third the alcohol you would in a straight martini, or probably half what you’d have in a glass of wine.

Taste in vermouth is a personal thing, so try it out to see the ratios you like, but be willing to give the vermouth equal footing with other ingredients.  Vermouth is VERY CHEAP, so don’t be afraid to just throw it away.  Mix it with anything: gin, brandy, any whiskey, absinthe, any liqueur.  I wouldn’t bother mixing it with vodka (won’t add new taste and the point is to avoid unnecessary alcohol) or tequila (just not a good idea), but rum is a surprisingly good pairing if you have some fruit flavor to bring in as well.

In general, I put these vermouthy drinks on large ice cubes if they involve a dark liquor or sweet liqueur, but I shake them and serve them up if the liquor is clear.  That said, never shake absinthe; for the Easy Does It, shake the other ingredients and stir in the absinthe at the end.

Bottom’s up – you’ll be able to find your way out of this glass!