Cocchi Vermouth di Torino (75cl, 16%)

Cocchi Vermouth di Torino is a sweet Italian vermouth from Piemonte, based on estate-grown Moscato d'Asti wine infused with a blend of botanicals. It follows a recipe first created by Giulio Cocchi in 1891, revived by the Bava family in 2011. Fire-browned caramelised sugar gives it an amber colour and a gentle sweetness that offsets the bitter botanicals, with no vanilla used. It suits drinking neat or over ice as an aperitivo. The nose offers singed orange, candied peel, cherry and rose petal. The palate is full and thick, balancing bitter and sweet with raspberry, liquorice, cocoa and rhubarb, and the long finish carries bitter botanicals and a trace of warm spice.