Welcome back to One Drink Five Ways, our very excellent series on how to make a whole bunch of different cocktails out of one ace bottle of booze. Best way to keep those picky people you call friends happy, right?
This week we’re looking at Martini Vermouth (a fortified version of wine), which comes in a whole bunch of different guises from the classic Martini Rosso to the sweeter Martini Bianco to the heady Martini Bitters. Use it to create classy, dry and very grown-up cocktails.
Click through the gallery to see what drinks to make.
1 Drink 5 Ways - Martini
1 of 6Take One Bottle Of Martini....
Dry or bitter depending on which version you choose, vermouth is all about being grown-up, refined and very very classy.
2 of 6The Classic - The Americano
This is known as the lighter way to drink vermouth, because the other ingredients - Martini Rosso and soda water - balance out the strong taste. Like when you were a kid and your parent's added tiny chopped vegetables to your spag bol to make sure you got your greens, this is how you ensure you're getting vermouth in your diet (v important). Get the recipe here.
3 of 6The Strong One - The Negroni Sbagliato
The person who invented this cocktail did so because they thought Americanos weren't strong enough. You basically use gin instead of soda, so it's all spirit and no mixer. It's a real 'put hairs on your chest' corker, and if you're a big vermouth fan you're going to love it.
To make, take 40ml Martini Rosso and 40ml Martini Bitters before topping with Martini Prosecco.
4 of 6The Party Starter One - The Vodka Martini
For God's sake don't go to sleep with this one next to you or you'll wake up in the morning and mistake it for water. This drink is a bit of an old classic, short and sharp. When preparing we recommend you use the stir method like they did in the good old days, but go ahead and give it a shake if you want James Bond. Get the recipe here.
5 of 6The First Timer One - The Noilly Cassis
Now this one is great for all the vermouth virgins because it contains Crème de Cassis, the sweetness of which really balances out the bitterness of the vermouth. Crème de cassis is essentially Ribena for grown-ups, and if you don't have any you can actually just use whatever blackcurrant squash you've got knocking around instead.
To make, take 45ml of Noilly Prat Original and mix with 15ml of Creme de Cassis. Top with soda water (optional).
6 of 6The Refreshing One - The Classic Negroni
When you want to chill out with something more satisfying than whatever rosé they've got on offer in Tesco, make yourself a lovely Classic Negroni. It's refreshing, it's intense and you're even getting a bit of Vit C with that nice slice of orange you've slid down the inside of the glass. Perf. Get the recipe here.
Photographs by Luke & Nik
Production & set design: Anna Jay
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.