Martini & Rossi Rosso Vermouth

Its cheap, flavor bomb. Rather bitter. A little bit over the top.

Grab it's more fancy sibling if you can afford it.

On the nose, notes of balsamic reduction, chamomile, quinine, tobacco, and candied orange. Rich mouthfeel. On the palate, more quinine, candied orange, and balsamic reduction – plus more chamomile and distinct star anise on the sweet, short-medium finish. 3.00/5.00 – Good (neat)

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word vermouth is cocktails. Martini & Rossi Rosso is one of, if not the most well-known, sweet vermouths out there and for $10, if not less, it's a pretty good value. The nose is spicy, with pepper, dried citrus peel and bay leaf. It's definitely the best part about the vermouth. The palate is very thin and pretty sweet with some raisin and anise notes. The finish is pretty short, with a touch of oak and pepper and no burn. I would probably forgo drinking this neat and stick to cocktails. It's not bad, there are just better sweet vermouths out there for drinking neat or on the rocks. The value though is hard to beat, so having it around to make a manhattan or a negroni isn't a bad idea (although there is better one's for those cocktails as well if you are willing to spend the money). In the end, it works well in cocktails and average at best neat.