30 best split/multi vermouth cocktails

In recent years, bianco and other vermouth styles have been used alongside dry or rosso to build complexity of flavour and achieve a perfect balance. Here's my selection of the 30 best cocktails using a combination of vermouths.

1920 Cocktail

A rye whiskey's spirituous spice adds backbone to what is essentially a Perfect Manhattan with orange bitters in place of aromatic bitters and garnished

Addington

Substituting vermouths (go high-end) dramatically alters the character of this light and easy aperitivo.

Alice Mine

Medium-dry with luscious orange notes. The orange zest twist is essential to the balance of this late-night sipper.

Bamboo (Difford's 'Perfect' recipe)

This Bamboo recipe achieves a 'perfect' balance between the dry mineral notes of fino sherry in contrast to both rich bianco and dry vermouths. Classically,

Bamboo (Savoy's 1930 recipe)

The simplest, one of the best and dryest renditions of the Bamboo cocktail. It may be simple but the combination of vermouth and fino makes for a fabulously

Blackthorn (English)

A sloe berry-influenced fruity Perfect Martini.

Bloody Bronx Cocktail

A Bronx made 'bloody' by the use of blood oranges. Fruity yet dry with botanical notes both from the vermouth and the gin.

Bronx

A fairly dry, complex cocktail. Generous sweet vermouth and orange juice make the Bronx less bitter and fruitier than many of its era, but still challenging

Brooklyn (perfect)

A perfect Manhattan with bittersweet liqueur rather than aromatic bitters and a balancing dash of sweet maraschino liqueur. If you can't obtain Picon

Coronation Cocktail (Old Waldorf-Astoria's)

Calvados-forward with a duo of vermouths and an apricot accent.

Czarina

Vodka-laced apricot with vermouth contributing herbal complexity.

Delmonico Special

A very wet gin martini dried with a splash of cognac and two dashes of bitters.

Improved Bronx

Delicate, fragrant fruity notes from freshly squeezed tangerine/mandarin juice freshen this version of the classic Bronx. My recipe for both versions of

Fallen Leaves

Suitably autumnal in colour. Two vermouths and two brandies presented in harmony.

Jerezana

Pronounced 'Hera-Zana', this delicious stirred cocktail combines two sherries and two vermouths with faint vanilla richness balanced by pronounced orange

Keyser Suze

Adapted from a recipe created in 2017 by Chris Grotvedt at The Thief, Oslo, Norway. Chris’ original spec call for 45ml Suze, 45ml Carpano dry vermouth

Manhattan (Perfect)

The medium-dry version of the classic Manhattan cocktail.

Martinez (Difford's recipe)

Your choice of genever will make or break this fabulous cocktail. My recipe is based on a medium-dry, rounded, and complex genever (e.g. Rutte Old Simon

Not So Perfect Manhattan

Not so imperfect – indeed this is one of the most delicious Manhattans I've had the pleasure of drinking.

Perfect Martini

Made with equal parts gin, rosso vermouth and dry vermouth the result is almost sherry-like and suits the aperitivo moment. However, if you want that spirituous

Peto

APerfect Martini with a splash of orange juice and a touch of maraschino liqueur.

Perfect Blood & Sand

I'm usually a maximum of five ingredients in a cocktail kind-a-guy, but this Blood and Sand riff with seven ingredients is balanced and tasty. If I were

Psychopathia Sexualis

Your choice of sherry greatly affects the finished cocktail I we ummm'd and ahhhh'd between dry oloroso, palo cortado, and amontillado sherries before

Rosita

Bittersweet, tequila-based, and Negroni-like. Classically garnished with a lemon zest twist but better with grapefruit.

San Francisco (Café Royal)

Fruity, aromatic and complex. This is one of my favourite sloe gin cocktails, made all the more appealing by its bijou serve.

Satan's Whiskers (Straight)

Dry and citrusy with underlying piney gin and herbal complexity.

The Savelberg

Boozy with bready genever, pear, citrus and faint rich honey.

Six Cylinder

A bittersweet aperitivo or digestivo with pleasing subtle rich cherry notes.

Tuxedo (Difford's recipe)

Inspired by the numerous other Tuxedo recipes, this combines the best of them with a faint hint of sweetness (from the bianco vermouth and old tom gin)

Vancouver

This cocktail, which is popular in the city from which it takes its name, was originally made with French dry vermouth but since the turn of the century