Dolin Dry Vermouth

The wine base is very apparent. Not too bitter or dry. Very mild.

Rating: 15/23 N: Tart, savory, mineral, dry, fruit (citrus). There's a bit of a swirling complexity happening here that I'm certain will be squashed in a cocktail. It smells richer than Noilly Prat Dry, which I count as a win. P: It's dry with some fruit (green apple, green pineapple, pear, citrus?) bringing in some sweetness. I get some savoriness too. There's some stony water flavor with minerals and a bit of herbal bitterness with a dash of pepper. This tastes more complex than my initial impressions. I'm quite liking it now. Both in general profile and complexity, this is substantially better than Noilly Prat Dry ever was. F: Dry, a bit fruity, and bitter. Kind of like the aftertaste of a granny smith apple watered down a dash with some savory, spicy, and light herbal elements added in. Cocktail: Martini, obviously I'm going for a martini with Plymouth gin. In a 3:1 ratio, this comes across as a bit strong. It's a good martini in that it showcases complimentary gin and vermouth nicely, but it's a little too much vermouth. Still, I'm quite confident that this pairing is better than one with Noilly Prat Dry because this has more savoriness and spice, whereas the Noilly Prat is more tart-sweet and fruity. I give this a thumbs up in a martini, though it isn't rocking my world. - Conclusion - This is a step up from Noilly Prat Dry. This is the first dry vermouth I think I've actually liked. It has a good profile with some decent complexity to explore that fits a martini well. I'm not good at rating vermouth because I don't have much data. I'll give it a shot though. This doesn't seem lower than a 12 or higher than a 16. Maybe (maybe) a 17. That's a wide range, but I'm working with it. I'm currently leaning toward a 14 because at the end of the day I wouldn't drink this neat and I feel like my gin is fine enough on its own (this isn't providing a major improvement). Hmm, this is growing on me, so I think it might be in the 13 to 16 range now. OK, trying a 6:1 martini, this really enhances the Plymouth. I'm not sure that I've found the perfect ratio, but I'm sure that this is great in a martini. A 13 is out of the question now. I'm probably looking at a 14 or 15, though I guess a 16 is still an option. It's a 15.

Great in a Martini. Much better than other widely available vermouths.

Too sweet.