Spanish Vermut

A lot of our customers during our Madrid tapas tours, ask us what Vermut is exactly, Native Spanish tapas is going to explain just that, what is Vermut?, what is that brown liquid I see in taverns during a Madrid tapas tour? Before we begin, let’s give our thumbs up to the Catalan region of Reus, for elaborating some of the bests Vermut in Spain.

Vermut is a drink that has traveled around the world, it is originally from Europe. There are two types, the dark brown one and the white one. The dark one is originally from Italy whilst the white one is originally French. White vermut is drier and has more alcohol content. In Spain, we elaborate the dark brown one typically served in midday aperitif before having lunch.

Vermut is technically an herb aroma liquor made with a good quality “neutral wine”: a wine with no defined character made from a variety of different grapes, it also has a bit of absenta and other sour spices. But a top quality one can go beyond that to include roots, plants, flowers or a variety of spices. Top-notch makers can use from fifty to up to eighty different ingredients. This is why vermut is one of the drinks with a wider variety of secrets. It´s dark color and sweet flavor comes from the added sugar, some vermut are sweeter than others, in our Madrid walking tours, we tell our customers that it is a sweet-wine, but little do they know how complex a vermut sweet-wine can be.

“Be careful with vermut” is a common saying that madrileño tapa lovers say when going out for some of the best Spanish tapas in Madrid. True, true, it is so delicious and sweet when served with ice and a squirt of seltzer-water, that two drinks can get to your head in no time.

Join us on one of our many Madrid walking tapas tour and enjoy some of the best Spanish tapas in Madrid.