Charlie Casben, owner of Moya’s Juniper Lounge in Sydney shares with us his special recipe for making Moya’s Wermut #8.
Moya’s Wermut #8 is no traditional vermouth. The aromatised wine was made for a specific purpose – a food and drink pairing for one of the 8 courses served at the Gourmantic Origins Dinner, held in celebration of our sister website’s 8th Birthday.
Charlie points out that the base wine for this vermouth, Amontillado Sherry needs nothing done to it to be a beautiful drink. “Amontillado is unique, delicious, versatile and complex and this was by no means a process undertaken to improve on an already great product,” he adds. “As this was an exercise in matching food and drink, in this particular case, Porcini & Truffle Oil Ravioloni in Butter and Sage, it was appropriate to include the nutty salinity that only an Amontillado can bring.”
“The vermouth is well suited due to the bitterness from the infusion of wormwood (and other botanicals), the slightly higher alcohol level keeping it light on the palate, and the level of sweetness which brought richness and binding to what might otherwise be a somewhat disconnected series of flavours.”
The method for making this vermouth may seem unconventional compared to others. The process begins by making a bittering concentrate using old white wine and botanicals, resting it overnight then straining the solids. The remaining liquid is then combined with Amontillado Sherry and Pedro Ximenez, then left to rest for a minimum of one week in the fridge. The result is as much a delicious aperitif and palate cleanser as a perfect accompaniment to the dish. The sherry notes married with bitterness linger on the palate and yield a very long nutty finish with a hint of roast macadamia.
How to Make Moya’s Wermut #8
Recipe by Charles Casben of Moya’s Juniper Lounge
Ingredients:
- 300 ml old white wine
- 10g Manuka honey
- 10g bergamot syrup
- 18g fresh ruby grapefruit peel
- 4g cinchona bark
- 10g wormwood
- 1200 ml NV Amontillado Viejisimo ‘Marqués De Poley’
- 400 ml Toro Albalá Pedro Ximénez ‘Don’
Method:
- Add wine, honey, bergamot syrup, grapefruit peel, cinchona bark and wormwood in a saucepan and simmer until reduced to approximately a third (100 ml final volume).
- Transfer all ingredients to a heat-treated jar, seal and store in the fridge overnight (preferably longer but overnight should be sufficient).
- Strain out solids and the remaining liquid will be your “bittering concentrate”.
- Combine Amontillado: Pedro Ximenez: Concentrate in the following ratio 12:4:1
- Seal and store in refrigerator. The flavour will improve over a week and stabilise for approximately over a month.
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