Vermouth & Soda

A vermouth and soda prepared with sound Spanish product is a fine low proof indulgence for a summer’s day, or an after work libation. Perhaps you’re suffering through a bout of disaffection and want to feel the blood course through your veins once again? To you dear readers I present a recipe to experience the simplicity of grace. And for those who find kinship with the author, who seek to drown in the excess of our fool’s paradise after the sun sets below the Hudson, I offer a more heavy handed twist. From the unfinished roofs of Two Bridges, to the bacchanals held behind the Green Door, I call on all those seasonally depressed to join me in championing the fervor of the Basque independence movement with a drink worth more than its weight in New Grenadan bullion.

Your choice of fortified wine is important, as it’s the start of all life in the glass. For this I prefer sweet and red with strong preference towards Catalonian natural winemaker Partida Creus’ MUZ, available cheapest at Astor Wine & Spirits for $26 for a 1L bottle. Soft and mildly sweet with a pleasantly acidic citrus sensibility, it also bears an herbal maturity and a bitter twang. The drink’s simplicity allows you to build it straight from a glass filled with ice. The good independentea brandishes their pride in a tall Collins or a double old fashioned, though a plastic red solo cup is an efficacious vehicle as well. I’ve a taste for equal parts vermouth and soda, but a one to three ratio won’t draw any harsh glares. If you find yourself on an ordained mission for perfection your choice of soda ought to be a chilled bottle of Vichy Catalan, but don’t let a bodega seltzer dampen your spirit. Garnish with what suits you and is available, but in truth an orange from Alimentari Flâneur should be close at hand to be peeled, then sliced and quartered. Present twist to glass and... to quote Milton, let “gentle gales, fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense native perfumes'' onto your drink. Stand fast as the spoils of citrus do not stand alone, and should be joined by an olive or two. Whatever adornes your martini will do, but reverence remains for Spanish Queens.

Before you is a fine drink, but it may exude an air of casualness not primed for the serious drinker. If you decide to awaken the heart of the Zezengorri, the mythological red bull sworn to protect the goddess Mari - whom the Basque call the Lady of Anboto - your work is not yet done. Before you garnish, I suggest expanding on your prim and proper vermut con sifón to build a streamlined variation on the Marianito, another Basque cocktail. This plays to one of vermouth’s strengths as an effective tool to meld with other higher proof alcohols. All that is required is the simple act of adding anywhere from a splash to upwards of a full ounce of both dry gin and Campari. I promise you will find great pleasure in the strength contained within its limits and amazed by the ease with which you can make such a cocktail of distinguished virtue.

Rejoice, and remember - the bright rays of summer are not far off.

Vermouth and Soda
3 ounces sweet vermouth
½ ounce dry gin
½ campari
3 ounces seltzer water
Orange and olive to garnish

Fill a collins or double old fashioned glass with ice.
Add first three ingredients, top with seltzer.
Stir until the glass is frosty.
Garnish on the pick, and enjoy.