Vermouth the way it’s meant to TASTE

ITALIAN GIANCARLO Mancino originally made his name as a bartender with magic in his mixing, and as such he noticed that the vermouth available today had lost the depth and appeal it used to have.
So he ended up building a whole new reputation as a clever entrepreneur, engaging some of the top names in craft bars and the restaurant industry. And he came up with Mancino vermouth, which recently became available at a few outlets in Bangkok.
Giancarlo Mancino bought a small, family-run distillery established in 1957 in Asti and launched his own brand, using handpicked herbs and spices. The aim was – and the result is – vermouth that “can be savoured as a solo experience, as an enhancement to cocktails by carefully bringing out its notes and flavours so as not to disturb the other spirits”.
He set out to echo the complex formulas of yesteryear, creating his own recipe from just three selections of renowned Italian wines and utilising traditional methods and 40 types of botanicals.
There are five Mancino labels, varying in the base wine and the botanicals.
Secco, made with Trebbiano di Romagna wine as the base, gives a hint of Mediterranean herbs in the bouquet and has delicate citrus notes. It’s a super-dry, breezy and clear spirit that’s great on its own or in a martini.
Bianco Ambrata has 37 botanicals infused in Trebbiano wine. The floral nose of chamomile, elderflower, orange and ginger merges in a rich, quinine presence, making the drink enjoyable with ice or in classic cocktails.
Rossa Amaranto, with 38 botanicals, is a dark amaranth-red spirit sporting the scents of vanilla, juniper and spices with bittersweet medicinal roots and will make your Negroni a cocktail to die for.
Vecchio is simply Rossa Amaranto that’s been resting in an Italian oak barrel for an extra year to enhance its character. The result is very sensual sweet vermouth with the aroma of spices, a fruity nose, and hints of honey, chocolate and vanilla. It’s perfect for the start or the end of a meal.
And Chinato is a hybrid of the Secco, Bianco and Rossa with quinine bark added. It has lingering, deep and rich palate, making it a very notable digestif or aperitif.
Macino also sells an equally charming line of designer glasses and stem glasses. The Wormwood series, named for the plant from which absinthe derives, has been called “a voyage in search of forms”, with decorative floral patterns recalling the Belle Epoque, as well as the American speakeasy and French bars. They’re made of high-grade crystalline glass and take the shape of professional-level tasting glasses.
The Wormwood series was created in collaboration designer Luca Trazzi, one of the best-known opinion-makers in the cocktail world. He and Mancino have ingeniously combined an intricate aesthetic with a design that elevates mixed-drink creations.
There are six glasses and stem glasses in the collection, conceived for grand cocktail bars and cocktail-tasting. You have the Astoria, the Presidente, the Galante, the Fizz Champagne flute and the Rock-Gobbler, the last one ideal for soft drinks and beer as well. The Galante, thanks to its technical tasting form, is suitable for all varieties of wines.
They’re innovative and elegant, with a retro air and yet contemporary forms. The engraved floral motif on all the glasses forms an interesting impact, evoking the atmosphere of the 1920s.