Flourish and a Spoil – Merwut Vermouth
When I came up with my drink for Negroni Week 2023, I also created an Americano version. Similar to my ‘Into the Red’ I used pinot noir sparkling wine in the drink. This resulted in a sparkling, but also still quite refreshing drink.
In this case, I did not replace the vermouth all together. Instead, I used the Merwut vermouth from Stefan Dorst. Stefan Dorst uses high-quality wine as a base. Furthermore, he adds wormwood, herbs, sugar and alcohol to the mix. In the end, the vermouth has an ABV of 18 %.
Winey and herbal
Primarily, I taste wine. Furthermore, I found thyme, wormwood and sherry in the Wermut. In the taste, you notice spices like cloves and cinnamon. In the aftertaste, the oak becomes visible. All in all, the vermouth is very well balanced and great on its own.
Inspired by the Americano or the Negroni Sbagliato?
Similar to my Negroni variation, I used the Casoni Bitter del Ciclista instead of Campari. Moreover, I combined the Merwut with a bit of Punt e Mes and a barspoon of Pastis. To top the drink off, I again went for the Barth Pinot sparkling wine.
2,25 cl Merwut Vermouth
0,75 cl Carpano Punt e Mes
4 Sprays The Seventh Sense Morgentau Bitters
Top off with Barth Pinot Sparkling Wine
Stir – strain – chilled highball glass over ice – top off;
Garnish: Dried Orange Wheel; Song: The Districts – Flourish and a Spoil;
The ‘Flourish and a Spoil’ starts with clear notes similar to an Americano. Yet, the sparkling wine takes the drink in a more winey direction. On top of that, the Pastis adds noticeable anise and fennel notes. The drink is quite complex and therefore better suited for autumn than for summer.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The vermouth was provided by Dorst & Consorten.
