Sweet Vermouth Vs Dry: What's The Difference?

Vermouth, at its core, is a fortified wine product that's been flavored with various botanical agents (think herbs and spices) — but there are different versions of it. Vermouth is generally classified between either of two types: sweet or dry. The sweet kind is dark and typically red in color, and it originates from Italy. It has a sugar content of up to 15% — which is sweet, but not necessarily liqueur-level sweet like Kahlua.

The dry version hails from France, and it's much different in appearance, with a clear color and only around a 5% sugar level. Personally, I sort of liken both vermouths to the split between red and white wine, with a major distinction being that the red version is always the sweet one when it comes to vermouth. Both types can be enjoyed on their own, either neat or over ice, and make for a pretty good sipping drink. They also both work well in cocktails. If you're keeping track of its strength, vermouth generally varies between 14% to 22% alcohol-by-volume (ABV).

While both types of vermouth are used in cocktails, they belong in distinctly different styles of drink. Sweet vermouth often pairs best with dark spirits like brandy and whiskey. The most popular use of sweet vermouth is in bar standards like Manhattans and negronis. A Manhattan is a simple drink comprised of two parts bourbon or rye whiskey to one part vermouth, with just a quick dash of bitters, and is usually garnished with some type of maraschino cherry.

Negronis feature gin, but the dark spirit Campari plays an equal role as well. These are simply made with one part gin, one part Campari, and one part sweet vermouth. This makes for a balanced yet complex drink, with tons of botanical flavors that play along the lines of both bitter and sweet. Anthony Bourdain was a big fan of negronis — I am too, though they're not necessarily for everyone, since they provide a wild amount of different tastes all in one go.

Dry vermouth is famously used in the most iconic cocktail of them all, the classic dry martini, which only features gin or vodka and dry vermouth. The ratio of dry vermouth to gin or vodka has been hotly contested, however, as it can vary widely between recipes. Some call for ratios like 2½ ounces of gin or vodka to half an ounce of dry vermouth; others suggest twice as much gin as vermouth.

Since everyone likes to order a martini their own way, some people either choose to barely rinse the stemmed glass with dry vermouth or omit it altogether, which is how Winston Churchill reportedly mixed his martini back in the day. And if you can't decide which to go for, you can make a cocktail that uses nothing but equal parts of both dry and sweet vermouth, called a French Kiss, which is not to be confused with the myriad of other cocktails that share the same name that use raspberries. But if you haven't already, try enjoying it on its own before mixing it into a cocktail, in order to gain a true appreciation for it.