MARTINI Riserva Speciale Ambrato Vermouth Aperitivo, White Vermouth Infused with Unique Botanicals, 18% ABV, 75cl / 750ml

Product Information

Drinks with martini bianco are a great way to enjoy a classic beverage while adding a touch of sophistication. This Italian aperitif is a blend of white wine and Italian herbs, giving it a unique flavor. It’s light and refreshing, perfect for sipping on a hot summer day or spicing up a night out with friends. Try mixing it with your favorite spirit or serve it neat for a truly elegant experience. With its bright flavor and delicate aroma, martini bianco is sure to be a hit whatever the occasion. Ambrato Vermouth This drink is made with the secret blend of botanicals and comes in a stunning amber color, and Moscato Bianco wines are used to make it. The wormwood aroma is almost tropical, while the honeyed sweetness and zesty citrus flavors add a floral heart and elderflower finish. Unusually, the concentrated botanical extracts for each vermouth are rested in Piemontese Tino oak vats for over two months to harmonise their flavour and character. This is the first time Tino vats have been used at Martini for many decades but the practice was typical for the original Vermouth di Torino, including Martini. Indeed, the original Tino No.1 can still be seen when visiting Martini as it sits in the companys museum of wine. The use of Tino vats and the other lengthily processes used, means to make a batch of Martini Riserva Speciale takes over one year.

Finally the vermouth is chilled to -8°C in ‘Il Frigo’ – no translation needed – and is then held at this temperature for three to four days. This encourages mineral salts in the vermouth to settle so clarifying the vermouth so only a gentle chill filtration is required prior to bottling. The intricately designed label of both Martini Riserva Speciale vermouths incorporate the royal arms of the House of Savoy, the Kings of which first protected the term Vermouth di Torino around 1840 to prevent producers outside of the Piemonte region using the name.

Review and Tasting

I was unsurprised to find that Martini & Rossi’s Riserva Speciale Ambrato was my favorite vermouth on its own, as it had the best balance of flavors in the lineup, drinking like a spicy spin on a glass of your favorite white. It also works very well in a martini, but here the competition is much closer — and, since no one ever drinks dry vermouth solo, this is really where it counts the most. Putting my top finalists of M&R’s Ambrato, Dolin, Vya Whisper Dry, and VerVino Variation One all head to head, blind in one final martini showdown, the winner surprised me: Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Ambrato was again my favorite, with Vya Whisper Dry close behind — both just let the gin shine clearly, informing it with a light hand of fruit, herbs, and bitter elements. That said, taste is always suggestive. My wife had a fondness for the much bolder, anise-scented Dolin. Ultimately you’ll have to experiment to find what works for you.

Luigi Rossi used exotic spices which the great Venetian and Genoese merchants brought to Italy such as fragrant young cloves from Madagascar and Ceylon or ‘True’ Cinnamon from Sri Lanka. Its smooth, thin bark provides a highly fragrant aromatic spice that underlies several of Martini’s vermouths.Known as ‘Vino Fiore’, the wines used come from the first gentle pressing of mainly Trebbiano and Catarratto grapes grown in Emilia, Romagna, Puglia and Sicilia, selected wines for their lightness, freshness and balance.

Martini has contracts with wine makers and cooperatives to produce the specific white wines required to make its vermouth. Luciano and his team all come from Alba, the Piedmontese capital of wine-making, which is considered to be one of the leading centres of oenology in Europe. Their task is to assess, select and blend the wines that will provide the body for Martini and allow the precious botanical characteristics to shine. The presence of Moscato d'Asti in Riserva Speciale Ambrato is an absolute innovation in the panorama of vermouths. This is how the initial delicacy is followed by persistent bitter notes. One of the many processes used to capture the botanicals’ aromatic essence is the ‘tamburo’ – a huge cylindrical vat which very slowly turns a blend of botanicals in natural alcohol, making only two rotations a day. Any faster would impart overly bitter characters, so this stage of the process takes two to four weeks.While other Martini vermouths are made with two different types of Artemisia (wormwood), for Riserva Speciale Master Herbalist, Ivano Tonutti, has selected a blend of three different types of local Artemisia – Absinthium, Pontica and Vulgaris, grown for Martini by the Erbe Aromatiche cooperative in the nearby fields of Pancalieri, Piemonte. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services.