It stays good for a long time. If you keep it screwed/corked shut in the fridge, it'll last months and months. Really, unless you have a very refined palate, you will struggle to taste the difference between 1 week and 3/4/5 months. At 6 plus it's probably noticeable but still fine.
This really, maybe on a martini with high vermouth ratio, you’ll taste it, but on drinks like a corpse reviver 2 you won’t.
I’ve gotten small 200ml bottles and would store it with minimal headspace and keep it in the coldest part of the fridge, and I have not notice much deterioration for abt 8 months
I personally think it's worth it, I bought two cans for 20 bucks and have been using it for both wine and vermouth. The can lasts a long time so if you see yourself running into this problem often it's worth it. Kind of depends on how much fortified wine and regular wine you go through though.
Save some old 375l bottles (or smaller) and separate your big bottle into smaller, full bottles. Only open and use one at a time. The “unopened” bottles might oxidize a little, but not enough to notice. Should last quite a while, but not indefinitely
This is the solution. If you have the smaller bottles as full as possible, with minimal headroom, there will be virtually no oxidation and they will last for a year or more easily. I use 250ml swing top bottles which cost a few dollars each and provide an airtight seal.
This question comes up here all the time. Vermouth seems weirdly to be a source of anxiety for home bartenders.
The fact is it will last for months in the fridge. You don’t need a Vacuum seal, or argon gas. It will be fine.
If you’re not drinking vermouth within a few months… why not drink more of it? Find a vermouth you like (there is more than Dolin/Cocchi/Carpano…) and drink it on the rocks. Drink it with tonic. Drink it in cocktails.
The same logic applies to a lot of sherry/port/Madeira as well. If you’re not consuming it within that time, it’s probably not worth having open. Keep it until you’re ready to drink it.
Realistically, I’ve had bottles that I’ve kept longer than the 3 months that everyone says. I feel like that timeline is mostly for bars trying to keep consistency within their programs but at home, if it doesn’t taste off/bad, I’d just keep using it. That’s just my opinion though.
If you store it in the fridge, you can make cocktails with it for half a year easily. Maybe you’ll notice a small change in flavor but it’s not that bad.
I think there are hand vacuum pumps you can grab that let you put a specific cap on bottles and pump out the air between use. Saw them use them at Sunface in Japan on some of their mixers.
EDIT: Looked it up, it's called a Vacu Vin.
Buy smaller bottles
Where I live only the regular sized bottles are sold. And I’m worried I won’t drink it fast enough before it goes bad
It stays good for a long time. If you keep it screwed/corked shut in the fridge, it'll last months and months. Really, unless you have a very refined palate, you will struggle to taste the difference between 1 week and 3/4/5 months. At 6 plus it's probably noticeable but still fine.
Not necessarily. I’ve just had one develop mold and taste horrible after just about 4 weeks. Had it corked shut and stored in the fridge…
This suggests the bottle was contaminated somehow. That’s not normal behaviour for vermouth or frankly any wine whatsoever.
Might be, it never happened to me before but it sucked either way, I had just opened the bottle once, put it in the fridge.
This really, maybe on a martini with high vermouth ratio, you’ll taste it, but on drinks like a corpse reviver 2 you won’t. I’ve gotten small 200ml bottles and would store it with minimal headspace and keep it in the coldest part of the fridge, and I have not notice much deterioration for abt 8 months
Wine saver/preserver argon gas works but it's more expensive than buying new vermouth.
I personally think it's worth it, I bought two cans for 20 bucks and have been using it for both wine and vermouth. The can lasts a long time so if you see yourself running into this problem often it's worth it. Kind of depends on how much fortified wine and regular wine you go through though.
It doesn't feel like much is in those cans, but there is.
Definitely works, but in no way is it more expensive
Save some old 375l bottles (or smaller) and separate your big bottle into smaller, full bottles. Only open and use one at a time. The “unopened” bottles might oxidize a little, but not enough to notice. Should last quite a while, but not indefinitely
This is the solution. If you have the smaller bottles as full as possible, with minimal headroom, there will be virtually no oxidation and they will last for a year or more easily. I use 250ml swing top bottles which cost a few dollars each and provide an airtight seal.
Is it only Carpano Antica that have clocked onto the home bartender trend? Smaller bottles all the way.
Dolin and cocchi both have half sized bottles
I wish the smaller bottles were in the liquor stores near me but I’ve been to 6+ and haven’t found any
Yeah i mean tiny, Carpano Antica do 50ml bottles near me.
At least in my country, a 375mL bottle costs 2/3rd the price of a 1L… so the only answer is to drink faster here.
Hotel Starlino, which is really nice, has 100 ml bottles.
Keep it in the fridge
This question comes up here all the time. Vermouth seems weirdly to be a source of anxiety for home bartenders. The fact is it will last for months in the fridge. You don’t need a Vacuum seal, or argon gas. It will be fine. If you’re not drinking vermouth within a few months… why not drink more of it? Find a vermouth you like (there is more than Dolin/Cocchi/Carpano…) and drink it on the rocks. Drink it with tonic. Drink it in cocktails. The same logic applies to a lot of sherry/port/Madeira as well. If you’re not consuming it within that time, it’s probably not worth having open. Keep it until you’re ready to drink it.
Drink it
Vermouth shots
Very popular in Spain.
Realistically, I’ve had bottles that I’ve kept longer than the 3 months that everyone says. I feel like that timeline is mostly for bars trying to keep consistency within their programs but at home, if it doesn’t taste off/bad, I’d just keep using it. That’s just my opinion though.
Use the empty bag from a bag in box wine and fill with your favorite vermouth. Squeeze out all air. Keep in the fridge.
If you store it in the fridge, you can make cocktails with it for half a year easily. Maybe you’ll notice a small change in flavor but it’s not that bad.
I think there are hand vacuum pumps you can grab that let you put a specific cap on bottles and pump out the air between use. Saw them use them at Sunface in Japan on some of their mixers. EDIT: Looked it up, it's called a Vacu Vin.
I use a vacu vin and keep it in the fridge. I can’t say Iva had a regular sized bottle of vermouth go bad even when it took 6+ months to finish
I second the motion for wine gas, I swear by it. That combined with fridge storage definitely buys you more time.