Cocktail lovers, take heed. This new sherry-based vermouth from Gonzalez Byass is going to give you something to shout about. It’s a revival of the 19th century La Copa vermouth, made from 8-year old Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherries, with wormwood, clove, orange peel, nutmeg, angelica and quinine. The orange peel has a resounding boom, with nutmeg and clove playing tambourine in the background. The sherries push it to the sweet side without even approaching syrupy. Citrus, sweetness, spice, and botanicals are well-balanced and dance on the palate. Good in a Manhattan, great in a Negroni, and delicious all by itself, this is Vermouth to seek out. Very Highly Recommended. 95 points. DBH
Try it in a Negroni:
1 oz Dry Fly Washington Gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz Gonzalez Byass “La Copa” Vermouth
Pour ingredients over ice into a mixing glass. Stir to blend and chill. Pour into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with an orange twist. Enjoy.
(Here’s a Vermouth tip – it’s a wine, not a spirit, so it oxidizes fairly quickly. That’s why most vermouth in bars is terrible. One way to give a full bottle of vermouth some life is to pour it into several small bottles when you open it. We use THESE. Pour gently into a funnel tipped against the side of the bottle to avoid too much agitation and fill all the way to the top, to keep air out. Then screw the top on. Refrigerate all the little bottles. That way, you only open 5 oz at a time, instead of the full 25+ oz in a 750 ml bottle.)