How to Use Up Your Dry Vermouth
Dry vermouth may be the bottle I reach for most often, since it’s useful in cocktails and cooking alike, and it keeps longer than an open bottle of white wine. (Do note that the wine-based aperitif doesn’t last forever, though, especially on your bar cart. I try to buy small bottles to store in my fridge and get through them, once open, in about a month.) And while I’ll happily drink vermouth on its own, we could all use a little recipe inspiration now and then. Here are 31 ways to sip dry vermouth and use it in your cooking.
Photo by Peden & Munk1/31Rhubarb-Fennel Gin Cocktail
For every dry vermouth cocktail that's on the stiffer side, there's a dry vermouth recipe that's light and fresh, like this zingy pink option made with fennel, rhubarb, and gin.
- Photo by Nicole Franzen2/31
Django Reinhardt
This cocktail from Day Drinking by Kat Odell is brunch-perfect and so easy. Just combine your favorite dry vermouth with fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and some muddled orange. Think of it as a nice change from your standard mimosa.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Dana Bonagura3/31
Oven Risotto With Crispy Roasted Mushrooms
Dry vermouth has an herbal quality that adds an extra layer of flavor to this hands-off risotto. Roasted mushrooms make an excellent addition.
- Photo by Doron Gild5/31
Nurse
Maybe this simple aperitif from Meehan's Bartender Manual doesn't actually have medicinal qualities, but it is wonderfully refreshing. All you need is that bottle of dry vermouth, some club soda, and a cucumber.
- Photo and Food Styling by Anna Stockwell6/31
Braised Celery With Lentils and Garlic
Searing, then quickly braising, celery in flavorful dry vermouth turns the humble vegetable into something worthy of a main course. (Of course, adding marinated lentils, crusty bread, and a fried egg doesn’t hurt.)
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell7/31
Fifty-Fifty Martini
If you're not sure you're on the martini train, I urge you to try one of these, a silky combo of good vermouth and a high-proof, full-bodied gin in equal proportions. This is how they were served circa 1910, and in my house, it's how they're served now.
- 8/31
All She Wrote
One great thing about this delightfully bitter vermouth-based drink from Batch Cocktails? You can mix it in advance and store in mason jars for later. It's delicious fresh, but even better after a few weeks in the fridge.
- Photo by Colin Price9/31
Obituary Cocktail
The martini meets absinthe in this three-ingredient drink. Serve icy-cold, with a lemon twist and salty snacks.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell11/31
Vegetarian Skillet Stuffed Shells
You could use white wine to the mushroomy filling for these stovetop stuffed shells, but dry vermouth is more flavorful and you just might already have a bottle open in your fridge.
- Photo by Kelly Puleio12/31
Islay and Olive
Consider this batchable cocktail a vodka martini—properly called the Kangaroo—gone savory with peaty Scotch and olives four ways.
- Photo by Lizzie Munro13/31
Tuxedo No. 2
Oh, we're not done with martini recipes yet. Try this variation, which brings together gin, fragrant maraschino liqueur, dry vermouth, and absinthe for an anise note.
- Photo by Peden + Munk14/31
Pasta With Shrimp in Tomato Cream
The tangy, luscious sauce for this pasta gets its deep flavor from cream, chicken stock, dry vermouth, sun-dried tomatoes, and a bit of tomato paste.
- Sara Bonisteel15/31
Cucumber-Vermouth Sangria
This isn't your standard red or white sangria: It's blue! St. John Frizell created this recipe for the Fourth of July, but if color isn't important to you, feel free to use regular (clear) orange curaçao or triple sec instead. You'll need a whole bottle of high-quality dry vermouth to make six servings.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell16/31
Dry Martini
If you're just beginning your martini adventures, start here. You can try many different gins and vermouths in this basic recipe and come out with a wide range of delicious drinks.
- Photo by Lizzie Munro17/31
Martini-on-the-Rocks
No need for a strainer for this old-school drink. Just throw some dry vermouth and gin in a glass with some ice cubes and you're good to go.
- Marcus Nilsson18/31
Seafood en Brodo with Tarragon Pesto
A cup of dry vermouth is the secret to this fragrant seafood broth, piled with cockles and fish fillets and topped with a fresh tarragon pesto.
- 19/31
Sforzando (Whiskey and Mezcal Cocktail)
This cocktail is a smoky variation on the Manhattan, created by bartender Eryn Reece during her tenure at New York's Death & Co. Instead of sweet vermouth, it calls for dry vermouth, sweetened with spiced-and-honeyed Bénédictine liqueur.
- Photo by Lizzie Munro20/31
Allies Cocktail
This savory take on the martini, from Robert Simonson's opus on the drink, features a couple of dashes of the liqueur kümmel, which tastes of caraway and cumin.
- Photo by Shutterstock21/31
Old Pal
Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) we like to drink Manhattans. But this drink is a nice change of pace, made with whiskey, Campari, and dry vermouth. Try it with bourbon, try it with rye, and see which you prefer.
- Photo by Lizzie Munro22/31
Puritan Cocktail
One more take on the martini, made with dry vermouth and a bit of yellow Chartreuse. It's a little richer than your standard martini, and very tasty.
- Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott23/31
Seared Salmon with Winter Vegetables and Kombu Broth
This broth gets its deep flavor from a well-browned onion, plus dry vermouth, ginger, kombu, and sweet root vegetables. Feel free to sub out the salmon for Arctic char or sea bass.
- Diane Fields24/31
Boozy Olives
Homemade vermouth-soaked olives are way tastier than any you can buy. Serve with a cheese plate and a Fifty-Fifty Martini.
- Photo by Jennifer Causey25/31
Spring Vegetable Risotto
This easy risotto cooks in the rice cooker, with a mix of chicken broth and vermouth as its liquid. Fava beans and English peas are added in the last few minutes of steaming.
- Photo by Alex Lau.26/31
The Gibson
If you want to make a superlative Gibson, you might as well go all the way, prepping your own pickled onions and using the pickling liquid in the drink along with two kinds of vermouth.
- Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott27/31
Under-the-Mistletoe Punch
This sherry, dry vermouth, and cranberry punch recipe easily scales down by half, or even all the way to festive drinks for two.
- Sang An28/31
Roasted Broccolini with Winey Mushrooms
The mushrooms in this side dish are cooked until golden brown before you stir in the vermouth.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Sean Dooley29/31
Chrysanthemum
This cocktail uses dry vermouth and Benedictine as the balancing factors for a teaspoon of absinthe. If you love licorice-y flavors, this drink's for you.
- José Picayo30/31
Rosemary and Mustard Pork Loin with Baby Artichokes, Shallots, and Vermouth Jus
Dry vermouth goes right in the roasting pan to make the sauce for this festive pork and artichoke dish. A little can go in your glass, too.
- Photo by Roland Bello31/31
Perfect Manhattan
Is this the perfect dry vermouth recipe? Maybe. But here, the word "perfect" refers not to the quality of the cocktail, but to the equal amounts of sweet and dry vermouth used to make it.
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman
Wilder Davies