Western Living Magazine
Pamela Anderson’s Ladysmith Home Is a Whimsical, ‘Funky Grandma’ Dream Come True
Dream Condo Alert: A Warm, Timber-Lined Loft We ‘Woodn’t’ Mind Living In
Trade Secrets: A Beautiful Bedroom with a Neutral Colour Palette
The Essential Guide to the 2023 BCL Summer Spirit Release
Recipe: Spot Prawn and Cherry Gazpacho
The Low-Alcohol Revolution Comes to the Okanagan
Wellness in Whistler—Your Ultimate Early Summer Retreat
It all starts here in Nanaimo
Local Summer Getaway Guide 2023: 6 Great Ways to Explore B.C., Alberta and Washington
Protected: Visit the Joint Replacement Center of Scottsdale
What to Get for Mother’s Day: Editors’ Picks
This Is Not a Drill: West Elm Just Launched an Outdoor Furniture Collab with Marimekko
Designers of the Year 2023: Meet the All-Star Industrial Design Judges
Deadline Extended! Enter Western Living’s 2023 Designers of the Year Awards
Designers of the Year 2023: These Are Your All-Star Interior Design Judges
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?