Vermouth / Aperitif

A top-drawer white wine-based aperitif from Bordeaux, made with local wines blended with fruit brandies and matured in oak for between six to twelve months.

A splendid red aperitif hailing from the Bordeaux region of France, Lillet Rouge is less famous than its Blanc sister (so beloved of James Bond) and will add welcome pep to your Manhattans and Negronis.

A limited edition fruit cup from Pimm's, combining their knowledge of fruity spirits with a love of blackberry and elderflower to produce a fantastic summery drink. Serve over ice, topped up with twice as much lemonade as Pimm's.

A 37.5cl bottle of arguably the world's greatest red vermouth, the sublime Antica Formula from Carpano. Antica's big, gutsy, multi-layered flavour means it should be used sparingly in Manhattans and Negronis made with regular spirits, but it's best when paired with equally big-boned ryes and gins for a real taste sensation.

An Italian bitter liqueur aperitif created in the 19th century in a coffee shop in Milan by Gaspare Campari. Flavoured with a bewildering array of 68 herbs and spices.

A cunning Pimm's variant, cleverly designed to pick up the demand in the colder moths when garden parties don't really work, the brandy-based Winter Pimm's is in fact superb all year round when mixed with cloudy fresh apple juice and served either warm or cold.

A new product for the 21st century from Lillet, on release their first in over fifty years. It's a blend of red and white Bordeaux wines mixed with herb and fruit liqueurs before aging in oak. A fantastic aperitif in the same vein as their rightly famed blanc and rouge.

A famed French aperitif liqueur flavoured with gentian root, giving a spicy, fruity and delicately bitter drink. Traditionally it's served neat, with tonic or with orange juice as well as a flavour in many cocktails. According to the manufacturers in Switzerland it's also enjoyed with Coke...

A very interesting American vermouth, produced using quality base wines and whole dried herbs (rather than oils or artificial flavourings). Not as dry as its European counterparts.

Rich, full-flavoured sweet vermouth made with a base of Orange Muscat wine (normally used in the production of dessert wine) and infused with herbs and spices.

An orangey tonic liqueur invented over 180 years ago in Italy and still made to the same recipe today. The recipe itself contains 33 herbs including gentian and cinnamon.

This aniseed aperitif was invented in France by Jules Pernod as a relacement for the banned absinthe, and quickly became a massive successs in its own right. Serve diluted with ice-cold water.

Sending the UK's cocktailist mixologalian types into a frenzy of anticipation, the famed Cocchi Americano has finally hit these shores. It's acclaimed as the most credible alternative to the long-discontinued Kina Lillet due to its high levels of cinchona, the fiercely bitter bark used to make quinine. This makes Cocchi Americano essential in recreating James Bond's Vesper Martini and the legendary Corpse Reviver #2 from The Savoy Cocktail Book.

As part of Cocchi's 120th birthday celebrations they've restarted production of this, their original recipe Vermouth di Torino, first produced back in 1891.

A small-batch gin-based summer fruit cup from London's hottest micro-distillers Sipsmith, who have deliberately made their product stronger and slightly drier than the mighty P*mm's. Eminently suitable for garden parties, weddings or picnics, add a good quality lemonade and slices of citrus fruit and cucumber and Presto! It'll be Sipsmith O'Clock...

The last of the official Pimm's "Cups", based on vodka and infused with a mix of herbs, spices and fruit. For those with a taste for a lighter drink it works excellently as a replacement for the No.1 Cup, mixed with lemonade with a garden of garnish.

Ricard is almost unknown in the UK, yet it is the third-best selling spirit in the world. A pastis with strong liquorice and aniseed flavours, Ricard is delicious when diluted with very cold water.

Zucca Rabarbaro is a delicious bittersweet Italian amaro made with rhubarb. Great stuff for a dicky tummy.

A litre bottle of Noilly Prat's excellent vermouth, heavier than you might expect and great for Manhattans.

Invented in Milan in 1845, these quality bitters are made by fermenting over 40 herbal ingredients in alcohol, before a year of ageing in oak casks.