A Spirited Guide to Vermouth: An aromatic journey with botanical notes, classic cocktails and elegant recipes

by Jack Adair Bevan

'An essential addition to your library' Russell Norman

'A genuine ode, written with style and substance in equal measure' Gill Meller

'A joy filled double whammy. Great drinks require as much artistry as food and this book proves the case mightily.' Jeremy Lee

Vermouth is currently experiencing a revival, and we can't seem to get enough of it. In A Spirited Guide to Vermouth , Jack Adair Bevan celebrates this versatile drink and its botanicals, drawing out vermouth's history and its delicate herbal flavours with recipes for cocktails, and some food to accompany them .

As an award-winning food and drink writer, and one of the first restaurateurs to make his own vermouth, Jack Adair Bevan is the perfect guide through vermouth's rich history and recent resurgence. As well as Jack's original recipes, A Spirited Guide to Vermouth also contains recipes contributed from the likes of Russell Norman, Olia Hercules, Gill Meller and Jeremy Lee.

With cocktails ranging from a Toasted Nut Boulevardier to a Perfect Manhattan, and from a Blood Orange Vermouth and Tonic to a Rosemary Bijou, the book also has dedicated sections exploring classics such as the Martini and the Negroni.

This book will take you on a botanical journey of discovery and teach you not only how to make your own vermouth, but also how to use it in your cooking, from vermouth-braised red cabbage to Negroni Bara Brith, along with plenty of food and drink recipes to accompany the aperitivo hour.

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2019

Reviews

[Anne Earney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for a more historical look at vermouth, what it is and how it's made, but this book focuses more on modern vermouth makers, specific bottles and variations between regions.

The food recipes sound interesting, but they're generally more complex than what I'd make at home.

Overall, this is probably a fun book if you have a bar full of vermouth and access to a kitchen stocked for fine dining. If you are just looking to make drinks at home, this is a bit much. Part of the problem is that vermouth doesn't keep long. I can't buy a bunch of different bottles to experiment with without inevitably wasting some, and we're in a pandemic, so I can't share easily, either.

So I'm still looking for a book that explores vermouth like traditional cocktail books explore the various types of alcohol (these are drinks you can make with gin, for example). Perhaps vermouth is too close to wine for this to work out, but I hope not. I'd like to be able to buy a bottle and be able explore that type in cocktails and food, without having to do more research to figure out which specific vermouths it's similar enough to, to use in the recipes in this book.

[Chubsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes you buy a book on a whim hoping to have found a gem, but it turns out to be a plain old dirty rock. I really regret having spent this money, but oh well.
Was hoping for details on the history and drinking culture of Vermouth, but it was covered by all of 30+ short pages max. The author doesn't really know how it's made, because it's all an industry secret! (even though he had his own vermouth product at some point in time). The rest of the book is mostly padded out with a dictionary of herbs and spices (really?), some generic cocktail recipes, and useless cooking recipes. Whoop.
You can find all of this stuff free on the internet. Don't bother.

[Thibault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good recipes for bar snacks, food and some clever cocktails besides the classics.

Could’ve included more history besides the modern vermouth stuff or more recipes for homemade vermouth.

Overall, a good book, but not stunning