Dolin Dry Vermouth Half Bottle 37.5cl

A great Martini is really a great vermouth wearing gin's clothes, and for a lot of bartenders the vermouth is Dolin Dry. It's the benchmark dry vermouth — lighter and more delicate than the big Italian names, and all the better for it in a stirred drink.

Dolin has been made in Chambéry, in the French Alps, for over two centuries, and it's the only vermouth to carry the Chambéry geographical designation. That mountain provenance matters: the recipe draws on a blend of fifteen botanicals, including alpine herbs, grand wormwood, brooklime, rose, orange peel, verbena and yellow genépi — the same wild aromatics that grow on the slopes around the town. It's built on a light, dry white wine base and bottled at 17.5%.

The nose is delicate and floral: fresh chamomile, lemon verbena, a whisper of alpine herb and a faint mineral note. The palate is crisp and refreshing, with green apple, white grape and lemon zest lifted by gentle thyme and sage, and a clean, faintly bitter grapefruit-pith edge running underneath. Where sweeter vermouths can dominate a drink, Dolin Dry supports and sharpens — which is precisely why it's the go-to for a proper Martini or Gibson. This half bottle is the sensible size, since vermouth is a wine and fades once opened.

Keep it in the fridge and reach for it whenever the cocktail hour arrives.

How to Serve

Vermouth is wine, so treat it like one — store it in the fridge after opening and use it within a few weeks before it oxidises. Serve well chilled. It's essential in a dry Martini and a Gibson, lovely in a 50/50 Martini, or simply poured over ice with a twist of lemon as a light, low-alcohol aperitif.

Where to Drink It

Dukes Bar in St James's, home of the legendary Martini. The Connaught Bar in Mayfair, for a stirred drink done to the millimetre. American Bar at The Savoy, a cocktail institution.

Food Pairings

As an aperitif it primes the appetite — serve it before dinner with olives, salted almonds or a few anchovies. It also works chilled alongside oysters or a plate of charcuterie.