NV La Quintinye Vermouth Royal Extra-Dry, Charentes, France 375 ml

ABOUT THIS VERMOUTH

The Quintinye Extra Dry is enhanced by a bouquet of 27 plants and spices, a selection of white wines and Pineau des Charentes Blanc, dominated by floral and citrus aromas.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Pronounced "Quin-Tea-Knee," this is thought to be the first vermouth to be based on Pineau des Charentes. The blend also uses white wines from the South West of France.

All three La Quintinye vermouths share the same base of 12 botanicals in varying quantities: Artemisia (wormwood), vine flowers, angelica, iris root, cardamom, cinnamon, Citrus Aurantium (bitter orange), nutmeg, ginger, cinchona (quinine bark), licorice, and amergo or bitter-ash. Additional botanicals are specific to each vermouth, a total of 18 in the Blanc, 27 in the Extra-dry, and 28 in the Rouge. Unusually, La Quintinye Vermouths don't contain added caramel.

Named after Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinye, botanist to King Louis XIV of France and architect of the renowned kitchen gardens at the Palace of Versailles. Born 1623, La Quintinye grew up in France's Charente region, the home of cognac and Pineau des Charentes, which along with the botanicals and garden is the link to this vermouth. Appropriately, the neck label of each bottle of La Quintinye bears the portrait of Jean-Baptiste proudly standing in front of his gardens.

This project was the result of four years of experimentation by Jean-Sébastien Robicquet of EWG Spirits and Wines, La Quintinye Vermouth was launched in 2014.