The Case of the Confusing Bitter Beverages: Vermouth, Amaro, Aperitivos, and Other Botanical Schnapps

Gastropod

Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Science, Food, History, Arts

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2023

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When it comes to booze, it’s fun to be bitter: an Aperol spritz has been the drink of summer for about five years, vermouth and soda was apparentlythe "hot girl" drink of 2023, and amaro is having "a major moment." Bitter botanical beverages are everywhere, but that doesn’t mean we understand what on earth they are. Could you explain the difference between vermouth and amaro, or whether either is an aperitif or a digestif? Where do Aperol, Campari, and Chartreuse fit in, and what’s the difference between drinks called bitters and the bitters your bartender dashes into a Manhattan? This episode, Gastropod is on the case of the confusing bitter beverages, starting with their origins in alchemy. (That pre-dinner spritz is pretty magical!) Listen in now to find out why Napoleon chugged cologne, how a shopkeeper’s assistant created the preferred drink of kings and influencers, and how you should enjoy these trendy new botanical beverages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Nicki I have a question for you. Yes, so I have been getting really into vermouths lately and I also have a bunch of things at home that I love which are Amaro's and they're both a little bit bitter but there are also
0:13.7	drinks called Aperatifs and often those are bitter and then there are Deja Steves and those are bitter
0:17.8	but I don't actually know what the difference between any of this is.
0:21.0	No I mean me too and also because I've been getting into making
0:23.9	cocktails I have bitters which I had a dash or two of to mix drinks but then I also
0:29.2	have things in my cabinet that are called bitter just without the S, but those you drink straight.
0:36.2	So what's the difference?
0:37.5	Seems like even people who make these drinks, they get a little confused too.
0:41.6	I actually called it a sparkling citrus vermouth
0:44.3	the first bottling, which is really confusing.
0:47.2	I sent a bottle to my distributor
0:49.2	and I just remember he called me and he was like,
0:51.2	Sam, how do I sell this? I was like, what do I sell this I was like what do you mean
0:53.4	he's like I don't know what it vermouth is I don't know what a citrus vermouth is and I
0:57.5	surely don't know what a sparkling citrus vermouth is yeah me neither but things
1:02.2	didn't get much clearer when Samantha Sheehan changed the classification of her sparkling citrus vermouth to an apparentif instead.
1:10.3	Yeah, I mean, uh, people definitely don't know exactly when an a pair of teeth is.
1:16.4	They don't usually, like, know how it's made or what to do with it, but I think a pair of teeth just sound a lot friendlier.
1:25.2	And so it feels like people are more open-minded to at least try it and talk about it,
1:29.2	whereas with Vermouth a lot of people just said no. There is a lot of confusion out there when it comes to what we're calling bittery type drinks.
1:37.2	We of course are Gastropod, the podcast that looks at food through the lens of science and history.
1:41.4	I'm Cynthia Graber.
	...

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