Anyone who loves a good Martini knows how beautifully gin and vermouth go together. In honour of one of our top gin events this season – the upcoming Port Eliot Festival – we’re joining forces with The Collector Vermouth to further explore this most spirited of marriages.
It’s only fitting that the ineffably creative Port Eliot Festival is the backdrop for our new collaboration (plan on attending this year from 30th July – 2nd August). As part of the event, we’ll be teaming up with The Collector Vermouth to create some super gin and vermouth cocktails for festival-goers (we’ve included three of the recipes below, should you want to try your hand at shaking up a cocktail yourself.)
It’s a delicious opportunity to partner with The Collector, who are pioneering English vermouth production thanks to their artisanal ethos and focus on high-quality ingredients. Born as the house vermouth of the esteemed Ethicurean restaurant in Somerset, The Collector’s name comes from the fact that its ingredients are foraged and otherwise locally sourced. The beautifully English vermouth is produced with 20 botanicals that are grown in the Ethicurean’s walled garden or are plucked wild in Somerset, from rowanberries and sage to wormwood and scots pine.
The result is a vermouth that’s rich, complex, and wonderfully well rounded – in short, a perfect partner to gin and vodka in our vermouth cocktails. The addition of handmade caramel and an Italian white wine base add notes of burnt orange, toffee, and marmalade, while the range of botanicals gives it a refreshing, gentian piquancy, chestnut sweetness and an herbaceous, rosemary quality – all of which goes splendidly with our gin.
If you’re attending Port Eliot, then, don’t hesitate to sample one of these limited-edition tipples. If not, we can’t recommend the recipes below highly enough:
Three Vermouth Cocktails to Try
Vodka Martinez
The Martinez is the father of the Martini, but the credit for this iteration of the classic goes to Brian Silva of Balthazar in Covent Garden. He controversially uses vodka instead of gin, though the end result is delectable: the vodka isn’t as domineering, so the aromatics in the vermouth are free to play.
Lemon twist
Chill a sherry glass or coupe. Put the vermouth and both vodkas in a shaker, add ice and stir until chilled. Strain into the glass, squeeze the lemon twist over the drink and discard the lemon. Sip away.
The Collector Martini
When it comes to gin and vermouth cocktails, there’s no better way to showcase the classic marriage than with a Martini.
25ml The Collector Vermouth
Dash of absinthe
Dash of bitters
Cherry garnish
Fill a shaker with very cold ice. Combine all ingredients and add to shaker; stir until very cold. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a cherry.
The Collector Negroni
The Collector Vermouth adds an herbaceous complexity to this ever-popular aperitif.
25ml Sipsmith London Dry Gin
25ml Sipsmith Sloe Gin
10ml Campari
35ml The Collector Vermouth
Orange twist
Combine all ingredients and stir. Serve over very cold ice, garnished with an orange twist.
