PLEASE NOTE: This product is only available to purchase as part of a Known Unknown Pick n' Mix Pack
We describe this as a ‘herbal, bittersweet amber vermouth’. Stylistically it sits between herbal Spanish Vermouth and a cinchona-heavy aperitif like Cocchi Americano however we also think it’s ultimately a quintessentially Aotearoan vermouth.
It’s made with a base wine of 4-year-old Hawkes Bay Chardonnay and 6-year-old Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc which was fortified with a combination of grape spirit and botanical spirit distilled at Juno. It is then infused with a range of botanicals including wormwood, lemon, kawakawa, chamomile, cinchona bark, elderflower, borage, dill and fennel before being sweetened with honey and vintage sweet wines. Like all our vermouths going forward, it was made in barrel with as many locally grown botanicals as possible.
Enjoy over ice, in a spritz or in a long drink with tonic.
"Complex and interesting bouquet and palate, a range of flavours unfold quickly as the wine touches the palate. Botanical then herbal, honeyed then tart, aged then stone fruits. A wine that is ideal over ice or - for me- best in a cocktail. At the very least with a mint garnish when over ice, super-chilled when in a Martini and perhaps with a light contrasting sweetener." 90/100 Cameron Douglas MS