From the golden years of the 20th century to today, the vermouth has never been so at the top of international consumption. The reason is that the revival of classic cocktails, such as theAmerican, the Negroni or the Milan-Turin, have allowed Turin's aromatized wine to climb several steps among the most appreciated alcoholic bases in the world. A testimony to support this thesis is the recent Brands Report 2024 published by Drinks International, which every year tries to draw up a faithful picture of the most consumed spirits on the market, based on a survey carried out on 100 establishments, positioned in the most important world rankings: from The Word's 50 Best Bars at the Top 500 Bars.
The data from the report
The annual report published by Brands Report 2024 is, every year, divided by spirits. For each of these, from gin to tequila, a list is reported with the top 10 best-selling brands and the top 10 trending brands.
In the vermouth category, Italy clearly dominates, with over 50% of brands in the two rankings.
Cocchi turned out to be the best-selling and trendiest brand, probably due to its wide range of products, which can satisfy all palates. From those who love a sweeter and more floral vermouth, like the white, to those who prefer a bitter aftertaste, and therefore order the red. Immediately after, the Turin brand Ancient Formula of Carpano produced by Milanese Branca Brothers Distilleries, which has the merit according to the vermouth expert Fulvio Piccinino Of “having opened the rebirth of premium vermouth”, and then Martini and Cinzano, the latter part of the group Martini, which also offer a multitude of affordable vermouth styles, as well as niche products such as Martini Special Reserve Ruby.
The first of the two French vermouths in the ranking – the other is Noilly Prat, which is thought to have been used for the first Martini Cocktail in 1920 – is Dolin, which is listed as one of the three most popular brands by the 37% of bars. What does this mean? There is still a demand for vermouths with a transalpine style.
To complete the two rankings, there are Left-handed, the only brand that offers a range of innovative vermouths – from Sakura with Japanese cherry blossoms, Kopi with coffee infusion – Belshazzar, the only German on the list, owned by the large Diageo group since 2018, the Italian Professor's Vermouth, born from the collaboration between the Jerry Thomas Speakeasy of Rome and the Piedmontese Quaglia Distillery, the Spanish Yzaguirre and Lustau, the latter based on sherry, the South African Caperite, produced with numerous native spices, and the Peruvian Avelino, available in three versions: red, rosé and reserve.
Vermouth has never been so at the top of world consumption and now, more than ever, deserves the first dedicated Salon.
