Ransom Sweet Vermouth (75cl, 17.8%)

Ransom Sweet Vermouth is a solera-aged sweet vermouth from Oregon's Willamette Valley, bottled at 17.8% ABV in a 75cl bottle. The base wine is made on site from Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Riesling and Pinot Gris, and fortified with brandy that is pot-distilled and aged in mixed French oak at the same farm. The botanicals, led by wormwood and quinquina bark, took five years of trials to settle. It is sweetened with Muscat grape juice, maple syrup and turbinado sugar. The nose is cocoa and cinnamon, with fig jam, strawberry compote and dried orange peel. The palate is lush with dried date and honey, then grapefruit, orange and strawberry-rhubarb, with a bittersweet edge. The finish is smooth and long, with cocoa, cardamom, chamomile and baking spice.