In the mood for a little sip of something Italian?  You can’t do better than this great red vermouth,  Carpano Antica Formula dal 1786, as an aperitivo.  This smooth liquid is a highly-sought after spirit, made in small batches, from an original recipe by Antonio Benedetto Carpano, the person credited with creating modern vermouth in Turin in 1786.

Carpano originally developed vermouth  (vermut in italiano) by mixing herbs, spices (including wormwood, from which the name vermut comes), and spirits such as vodka or gin with a sweet base wine. His new drink proved so popular, or so the story goes, that his shop had to stay open 24 hours a day to satisfy demand.

Originally, vermouth was used medicinally (kinda like Coca-Cola), but by the 19th-century, its medicinal properties were forgotten as sophisticated palettes came to appreciate the rich complexities of the formula for its own sake.  For a while wormwood was banned in the US and elsewhere, but now the rich formula is again available.

The best way  that I know to drink this delightful beverage is before dinner, on the rocks with the zest of an orange, after first rimming of your glass with the oils from the orange peel. Cin cin!

Fantastico!

Our Italian words for the day:  vermut, cin-cin

Ciao tutti!