Dry Vermouth
Dry vermouth is the pale, French style of vermouth, about 18% ABV, with herbs and a light bitterness; under Regulation (EU) 251/2014, a dry label means under 50g of sugar per litre. Our Martini takes 10ml of it with 60ml of gin, and it is half of a Bamboo, where it brings herbs and wine acidity without sweetening the drink.
Quick Facts
A cool cupboard until it is opened, then the fridge, tightly capped, with the date written on the label.
Contains: sulphites.
About Dry Vermouth
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Dry and herbal, with citrus peel, a light floral note and wine acidity; bitterness is low and the finish clean.
A dry label carries a legal limit
Dry vermouth shares its category with the sweet kind: at least 75% wine, wormwood in the flavouring, alcohol added. What separates them is sugar. The legal line for a dry label is 50g per litre, and 30g for extra-dry, while a sweet vermouth carries 130g or more. Less sugar means a sharper, more herbal liquid that frames a spirit rather than sweetening it.
Dry vermouth against its neighbours (sugar bands from Regulation (EU) 251/2014; Lillet Blanc’s strength from Pernod Ricard’s product page)
Dry vermouth
- Category
- Aromatised wine
- Sugar
- Under 50g/L if labelled dry
- Strength
- About 18% ABV
- Typical use
- Martini, Bamboo
Sweet vermouth
- Category
- Aromatised wine
- Sugar
- 130g/L or more if labelled sweet
- Strength
- About 16% ABV
- Typical use
- Whiskey and red-bitter drinks
Fino sherry
- Category
- Sherry (wine with grape spirit added)
- Sugar
- Very dry
- Strength
- About 15% ABV
- Typical use
- Bamboo, with dry vermouth
Lillet Blanc
- Category
- Aromatised wine
- Sugar
- Not published by the producer
- Strength
- 17% ABV
- Typical use
- Aperitif; drinks that name it
| Bottle | Category | Sugar | Strength | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry vermouth | Aromatised wine | Under 50g/L if labelled dry | About 18% ABV | Martini, Bamboo |
| Sweet vermouth | Aromatised wine | 130g/L or more if labelled sweet | About 16% ABV | Whiskey and red-bitter drinks |
| Fino sherry | Sherry (wine with grape spirit added) | Very dry | About 15% ABV | Bamboo, with dry vermouth |
| Lillet Blanc | Aromatised wine | Not published by the producer | 17% ABV | Aperitif; drinks that name it |
Why the bottle goes stale before it is empty
A Martini uses 10ml. A 75cl bottle therefore holds about 75 of them, and few people make that many in the three or four weeks we give an opened bottle in the fridge. That arithmetic, not fragility, is why so much dry vermouth is poured stale, and why so many people decide they dislike it.
The fix is the bottle size first and the fridge second. Half bottles solve most of it.
The ratio is a preference; the freshness is not
Our Martini follows the IBA at six parts gin to one of vermouth. Wetter and drier versions are both legitimate. What does not change is that the smaller the measure, the more a tired bottle shows, since the gin hides nothing.
Outside the Martini
Dry vermouth pairs naturally with fino sherry: the Bamboo is equal measures of the two, low in strength and very dry. Served cold with a strip of lemon it makes an aperitif. In a pan sauce it stands in for white wine, and in our experience it keeps longer once opened.
Using Dry Vermouth
Usage
Stirred drinks take it as a modifier: 10ml with 60ml of gin in our Martini, 45ml with an equal measure of fino in the Bamboo, 7.5ml in the Left Bank Martini. Also an aperitif on its own, cold with a twist, and, in our experience, a cooking wine that keeps longer than an open bottle of white.
Pro Tip
For a drier Martini, cut the measure rather than the freshness. A rinse from a bottle opened this week tastes cleaner than 10ml from one opened last season.
Top Tips
- Buy the smallest bottle sold. A Martini takes 10ml, so a full bottle holds far more drinks than it has weeks of freshness.
- We keep it chilled once opened; with little sugar to cover it, staleness is easier to taste than in a rosso.
- Use the end of a bottle in the kitchen: it deglazes a pan as white wine does.
Possible Substitutions
- Fino Sherry: Fino or manzanilla: drier and more saline
- Lillet: Sweeter and fruitier; changes the balance
Production Method
White wine infused with herbs, citrus peel and the obligatory wormwood, kept low in sugar and raised to 15 to 18% ABV with added alcohol.
History & Context
Old recipes call this style French vermouth. Difford’s Guide, a secondary source, traces the first printed Martini to Harry Johnson’s Bartender Manual of 1888, made with sweet vermouth; the drink turned to dry vermouth, then to less of it, over the decades that followed.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is dry vermouth?
Is dry vermouth the same as white wine?
How much dry vermouth goes in a Martini?
Does dry vermouth go off once opened?
Can you drink dry vermouth as an aperitif?
What can I use instead of dry vermouth?
What is the difference between dry and extra-dry vermouth?
Can you cook with dry vermouth?
Sources.
Correct as of 16 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EU) No 251/2014, Article 3 (retained)”.
- legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EU) No 251/2014, Article 6 (retained)”.
- legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EU) No 251/2014, Annex II (retained)”.
- IBA, “Dry Martini”.
- Difford’s Guide, “Martini Cocktail Evolution: From Sweet to Dry” (secondary source).
- Pernod Ricard, “Lillet” (the owner’s brand page, with label strength and ingredients).
From the Guides
Made with Dry Vermouth
Featured In These Cocktails
Often Used With
Updated 16 October 2026