When first conceiving Employees Only, we knew we wanted to create our own house vermouths. We abandoned the idea of making our vermouth from raw wine and decided instead to use dry vermouth as a base for an infusion of additional herbs. The primary flavors in dry vermouth are rosemary, thyme, lavender, and anise—the same botanicals that make up the herbes de Provence blend used in cooking. To extract and transfuse flavors, we use a hot infusion method to create just a small amount of highly concentrated liquid that can be blended with the rest of a bottle of vermouth without cooking out all the alcohol. This controlled method of infusing reduces the amount of contact between alcohol and herbs—if left to steep too long, the finish is bitter. EO Vermouth de Provence is one of the key ingredients in the Provençal cocktail (page 49).
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 quart
Ingredients
Preparation
Place the herbes de Provence in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add 2 cups of the vermouth. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from the heat. Let stand until cool. Add the remaining vermouth and strain through cheesecloth. Bottle and store at room temperature. Will keep indefinitely.
