A cracking, old school Italian red vermouth from Contratto.
Contratto Rosso is based on an original recipe from the early 1800s. The bottling combines white wine with Italian brandy and over 30 botanicals.
15 of the ingredients are secret, but we do know that Contratto includes: coriander seeds, laurel leaves, yellow sweet clover, cinnamon, angelica root, nutmeg, bitter orange peel, lemon peel, carob pods, pimento seeds, rhubarb roots, sage, cinchona bark, liquorice root and sandalwood.
These ingredients have been cold macerated in the traditional style of 20 days.
The result is a delightfully herbal, rich and spicy vermouth with notes of coffee, chocolate, Christmas spice, root beer, sweet grapes and wood.
Makes one hell of a Manhattan.