What is vermouth?
What is vermouth, wermut, vermut, vermú
The word vermouth is derived from the French pronunciation of wermut, the German word for wormwood (also known as absinthe, or artemisia absinthium), probably the main ingredient of this popular fortified wine back when it was considered a medicinal drink.
It’s generally acknowledged that wine had been already infused in China, India and ancient Greece long before the Germans did it with wormwood as the main ingredient in the 16th Century, but the form we know today was a version of the German beverage that an Italian merchant brought back from his visits there.
Although Italian and French companies produce most of the vermouth consumed throughout the world, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom also produce vermouth. Catalonia offers a wide range of excellent vermouths with more than 70 brands. Reus, in the south of the region, is known as the capital of vermouth, since it introduced the drink in Catalonia and Spain during the 19th Century.
Here are some of the most well known vermouths according to country:
Italy – Martini, Cinzano, Cocchi, Carpano, Mancino, Gancia
France – Dubonnet, Lillet, Noilly-Prat, Quintinye, Routin, Dolin
Spain – Yzaguirre, Miró, De Muller, Lacuesta, Dos Déus, Txurrut
