Western Living Magazine
This Calgary Spec Home Is an Ode to Colour
Great Spaces: Inside a Buzzy and Beautiful West Vancouver Coffee Shop
6 Beautiful Black and White Kitchens to Inspire Your Next Renovation
Recipe: Pineapple-Stuffed Gougères Are Perfect For The Super Bowl
Recipe: 4 Ingredient Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookie Truffles
The Prettiest Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes for Valentine’s Day
Editors’ Picks: The Best Trips We Took in 2022
Victoria Might Just Be the Perfect Pre-New Year’s Getaway
Discover the Perfect Winter Getaway in Penticton
Hot List: The Best New Furniture and Homewares of February 2023
I Tried It: What It’s Like to Sleep On a Wall Bed
Protected: The Endy Hybrid: The Best of Both Worlds
Submissions Now Open! Enter Western Living’s 2023 Designers of the Year Awards
Introducing Western Living’s 2022 Designers of the Year Award Winners
WL Architects of the Year 2022: Measured Architecture
And that's why your Manhattans, Martinis and Negronis don't taste right.
As the cocktail columnist for our sister publication, Vancouver Magazine, I’m often asked for home bartending tips and there are literally dozens: ice matters a lot, you shake too much and stir not enough, and always use fresh citrus are up there. But the number one flaw I see time in and time out is buying a bottle of vermouth (be it red or white) cracking it to make a drink, putting it back in the cabinet and expecting that it will last as it it were a bottle of vodka. Unlike vodka (or gin or scotch) vermouth is not a spirit but a fortified wine, which means it has a whole lot more in common with that bottle of Poplar Grove you just opened than it does with the bottle of Laphroaig your Uncle gave you last Christmas.The rub is there’s no real solution. Putting the opened bottle in the fridge helps, buying smaller bottles helps (for some reason Vermouth is sold mostly in 1L containers when it should be sold only in 375mls), or transferring the bottle into smaller containers with no air all help, but the truth is you have to drink it. Even with the above you’ll only get 45 days out of a bottle, without over 30 days and your martini is going to taste a little off. It won’t hurt you but it sure won’t taste like the one the pros make either.
Are you over 18 years of age?