Cocchi Dopo Teatro vermouth. Vermouth is one of those products that often gets a bad reputation based on people’s malformed impressions with spoiled versions. Even I was a vermouth hater until I realized it had to be kept in the fridge and drank within weeks-months.

Vermouth is a sweetened aromatized and fortified wine, aromatized with botanicals such as cinchona bark and wormwood, and fortified with liquor to aid in preservation. The origin of sweet red vermouth lies in Torino, Italy, which is why sometimes sweet vermouth is noted as “Italian vermouth.” The most well-known Torino-style vermouth is Cocchi’s Vermouth di Torino. That fundamental red vermouth forms the base of Dopo Teatro.

Discovering and trying the wide variety amongst vermouths is also an enlightening experience. Within vermouths, there are a few notable subcategories – some popular styles being “alla vaniglia” (with vanilla), “amaro” (extra bitter), and “chinato” (extra cinchona bark). Carpano Antica is an example of an “alla vaniglia” vermouth, while Punt e Mes is a popular “amaro” vermouth.

Dopo Teatro is an “vermouth amaro” named “after theatre” to celebrate the Torino tradition of sipping on some chilled vermouth with a lemon twist after an evening at the theatre. Building on the base of the classic vermouth di Torino, it includes more bittering ingredients such as chiretta flowers, Chinese rhubarb, quassia wood, and extra cinchona, as well as Barolo Chinato (a special type of bitter aromatized Barolo wine)

Overall, this is a super balanced vermouth; it’s not mind-blowingly different from sweet vermouths you may be used to and thus subs in perfectly in any recipe calling for sweet vermouth, and the additional slight bitterness lingers in the aftertaste and adds beautiful complexity!