Blanc vermouth is the one most home bars are missing: clear like a dry vermouth, sweet like a red one, and floral in a way that neither is. It is what makes an El Presidente taste right (the Cuban original used Chambéry blanc, not dry), what turns a Negroni into a Negroni Bianco, and the vermouth that sweetens a Martini Royale without colouring it.

What is blanc vermouth?

A white, sweet aromatised wine: a base of white wine fortified with spirit, sweetened with sugar and flavoured with wormwood, herbs, citrus and (often) vanilla and elderflower, bottled clear or pale gold at 15 to 18 per cent alcohol. Dolin of Chambéry made the first in the 1880s and "blanc" is the French style; "bianco" is the Italian equivalent from Martini & Rossi, Cinzano and Carpano. Blanc sits between the two familiar vermouths: it has the sugar of a sweet red (around 130 g per litre, a little less than rosso) and the clean, pale look of a dry, and its flavour is gentler and more floral than either. Pre-war recipes that call for "French vermouth" in a drink that is obviously meant to be sweet, like the El Presidente, mean this.

What it tastes like

Sweet, soft and floral, with vanilla, elderflower, white fruit and a gentle herbal bitterness underneath; less sharp than dry, less spiced and caramel than rosso. It pairs with white rum and orange curaçao in the El Presidente, with gin and Suze or Luxardo Bitter Bianco in a white Negroni, with bourbon in a Boulevardier Blanc, with blanco tequila, with prosecco, and on its own over ice with a lemon twist as the aperitivo it was built to be. It replaces simple syrup in some stirred drinks, since it sweetens and flavours at once.

How to use it

Stirred, in the measures you would use sweet vermouth: three-quarters of an ounce to an ounce against two of spirit, or equal parts in a Negroni Bianco. It is a wine; keep it refrigerated once open and pour it cold. Try it in place of dry vermouth in a Martini for a softer, sweeter drink (a "Martini blanc"), and in place of sweet vermouth in a Manhattan for a pale one. With soda and a lemon wheel it is a two-ingredient highball.

Substitutes

Equal parts dry vermouth and sweet vermouth, which gets the sweetness but adds colour and spice. Dry vermouth plus a barspoon of simple syrup, which is close in a Martini variation. Lillet Blanc, which is less herbal and more fruity. Cocchi Americano, more bitter and quinine-led, in a white Negroni.

What to buy

Dolin Blanc is the original and the bartender's standard, light and floral. Martini Bianco is sweeter and more vanilla and widely available. Carpano Bianco is richer; Cinzano Bianco is cheap and fine. Contratto and Cocchi make excellent ones at a higher price. A 375 ml bottle is sensible; it is a wine and fades.

Storage and shelf life

In the fridge once opened, and use it within a month or two; vermouth oxidises like any wine, and a blanc shows it quickly as a flat, sherry-like note. Sealed, a couple of years in a cool, dark cupboard. A wine stopper or a vacuum pump helps.

Cocktails with blanc vermouth

The Cuban classic: the El Presidente. The white Negronis: the Negroni Bianco and the Boulevardier Blanc. The sparkling one: the Martini Royale. Every drink that uses blanc vermouth is listed below.

Questions

Is blanc vermouth the same as dry? No. Blanc is sweet and floral; dry is, well, dry. They look alike and taste very different.

Blanc or bianco? The same style: blanc is French (Dolin), bianco is Italian (Martini, Carpano). The Italian ones run a little sweeter.

Does it need refrigerating? Yes, once open; it is a wine and goes flat within weeks at room temperature.

What vermouth does an El Presidente use? Blanc. The dry-vermouth version is a later misreading and tastes thin.