A terrific sweet vermouth from Jean-Sébastien Robicquet and the team at EWG Spirits. This vermouth is produced in the Charente region of France, which is better known for its Cognac production.

This bottle takes its name from Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinye (who grew up in the Charente area), King Louis XIV’s botanist and the man behind the world-renowned kitchen gardens at Versailles. If you look carefully at the bottle’s neck you can see a depiction of Monsieur de la Quintinye himself. The brand’s name is pronounced ‘Quin-Tea-Nee’.

The Quintinye range is supposed to be the first in the world to be based upon Pineau des Charentes wine – produced, as the name suggests, in the Charente region. This vermouth is made using a whopping 28 different botanicals, but centres around a base of: artemisia (wormwood), angelica, nutmeg, iris root, cinnamon, cardamom bitter orange, ginger, quinine, vine flowers, liquorice and Quassia Amara (Amargo). No caramel is used: the colour is entirely the product of wine and botanicals.

It took Robicquet four years of testing to create these vermouths, and his hard work has paid off, with this a delicious red vermouth, serving up notes of: redcurrant jelly, Christmas spices, milky coffee, prunes, vanilla, chopped herbs, mint, eucalyptus, quinine, cola cubes, raspberries and cherries.

Intense, full bodied and flavoursome, this is the perfect vermouth to match with a spicy rye whiskey for a top notch Manhattan.

• Distillery / brand
  La Quintinye Vermouth Royal
• Country
  France
• Bottler
  Distillery Bottling
• SKU
  035830