Quady Vya sweet vermouth review

Orange muscat is an obscure grape variety, in its home country of Italy it is known as ‘moscato fior d’arancio’, which translates to ‘orange blossom muscat’.

The grape is typically only grown in Australia and California – Quady Winery are the foremost producer.

Muscat is a distinctive grape family in that its wine tends to reflect its aromas well – making it well suited to vermouth due to its overwhelming orange aroma and spicy notes. It's also frequently used in blending wines, a desirable characteristic when making vermouth.

The partner grape to the orange muscat is known in Portugal as the ‘tinta roriz’, and lends itself to vermouth in a different way. This deep red grape is commonly used in port, indicating it's adept to fortified winemaking.

These two grapes combine alongside a dry white wine for an almost tart sweetness before the infusion of the botanicals.

The exact recipe of the herb infusion is in constant flux due to Quady’s decision to use ingredients imported from different corners of the world, as opposed to the method of using locally sourced plants that can be relied upon.

This means that from batch to batch the recipe has to be reassessed, as the character of the Indonesian cinnamon, for instance, could have changed with the weather.

Despite these challenges, the Quady team consistently put together their top secret concoction to the same effect.

The resulting vermouth is the least bitter inclusion in our round-up, sweetness takes the forefront of the palate with orange dominating, joined by baking spices and a tasteful acidity.

These flavours are held back from becoming saccharine by the subtle herbaceous tones in the finish. This tempering of the muscat’s sweetness is achieved through the use of bark and seeds, which are the bitterest part of the plant.

Serving suggestion

It’s got to be a manhattan. This uber stylish cocktail is typically made up of three ingredients: sweet vermouth, rye whisky and Angostura bitters. The components are stirred then strained into a chilled cocktail glass and garnished with a cherry.

There are a multitude of manhattan variations, depending on sweet or dry vermouth, which whisky you use, ratio of ingredients and so on. We recommend going for a 1:1 ratio of Quady Vya Sweet Vermouth and bourbon.

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This review was last updated in March 2020. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.