Dolin Rouge Vermouth Half Bottle 37.5cl

Chambéry is the only place in France with its own protected name for vermouth, and Dolin has been making it there since 1821. That matters more than it sounds. Alpine vermouth is built on lighter, fresher wine than the Italian style, so it flavours a drink without taking it over.

The Rouge is a sweet vermouth, but only just. More than thirty herbs and spices go in, and what comes out is amber rather than dark — stewed fruit and prune on the nose, a curl of cinnamon and Szechuan pepper behind it. The palate runs through almond, citrus, pear and gingerbread, with a little tobacco and dried oregano. Underneath everything sits a proper base of bitterness that stops it cloying.

This is the vermouth to reach for when you want the gin or the whiskey still recognisable in the finished drink. In a Negroni it holds its corner without shouting. In a Manhattan it flatters everything from a soft wheated bourbon to a spiky single barrel.

Under a tenner for a half bottle, which is the sensible format. Vermouth is wine. It goes off.

How to Serve

Over ice with a wide strip of orange peel is the honest test of any sweet vermouth, and this one passes it. Refrigerate once opened and finish it inside a month.

Where to Drink It

The Connaught Bar, where the Martini trolley is worth the trip alone. Scarfes Bar at the Rosewood, for a Negroni and a fire.

Food Pairings

Aged Comté or Ossau-Iraty. The nuttiness in the cheese meets the almond in the glass and they get along.