In case you missed the piece I had in the New York Times on the new crop of odd and great vermouths coming out of America, give a click on the above link and check it out.
The back story was when I walked into a part in December in Stuy Town. In fact the original story started like this:
Bianca Miraglia was squished into the rear of a cramped kitchen, draining a glass of old barbaresco with her friends. The 29-year old with the open, heart-shape face was talking natural wines when she switched gears. “Want to taste vermouths?”
Defying the tipple’s sissy reputation, I eagerly thrust my glass in front of her. She had three versions, bitter, barely sweet, sophisticated. They had a dryness I never experienced in the often too syrupy drink. “Wait. You made these?” I asked.
America has been slow in warming to vermouth. Vya, the first big commercial splash in domestic vermouths came out of California in 1999. Another Californian Sutton, and Imbue from Oregon followed in a decade. By spring of 2013, nearly half of the country’s six craft producers (2.5) will be peddling their wares out of Brooklyn, threatening to turn the borough into Turin on the Hudson. And while the popular attitude is changing—especially in the hipster crowd, the drink remains much maligned. Miraglia’s seasonally themed product, Uncouth Vermouth, might be the real game changer.
But that was the blog version. Thanks to New York Times editing (might I always have Patrick whispering corrections and suggestions in my ear) it became the clickable story.
But what I wanted in the piece was Bianca's sensibility. Take a look at her mise en place.
and this...................
and then there were the fabulous bottles created by artist Matthew Rose that of course had to be
um, edited by the ATF......
So the piece comes out. I base my piece on the fact that in American you can make vermouth which means wormwood in German, and you don't have to use wormwood! (Bianca uses a close relative.) As things happen, I found out that there was one vermouth I forgot about and......unlike almost anyone else in the United States, he uses wormwood. With great apologies to Ted Seestedt of Ransom spirits, I eagerly look forward to tasting your product.
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