Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/581407
AFTER OVER 250 YEARS ON THE THRONE, CINZANO REMINDS US WHY IT IS THE KING OF VERMOUTH of Italy ICON The historic house of Cinzano is an industry icon to this day, infused in rich Italian heritage. ITALY story and photos by Karen Moneymaker I ntroduced to the world in 1757, when brothers Giovanni Giacomo and Carlo Stefano Cinzano created their original Vermouth Rosso at their herbal shop in Turin, Italy, Cinzano was destined to change and revolutionize the way the world looked at the aperitif category. Their recipe (still a closely guarded secret) became so popular with the Turin locals that soon the brothers released CINZANO Bianco, with a base of wormwood, cin- namon, citrus, cloves and gentian, and an Extra Dry recipe, which became popular with bartenders and consumers alike. After more than 250 years on the scene, it continues to play an integral role behind the bar and in the glass. While bartenders across the nation continue to play with the versatility of this aromatized wine, vermouth is (once again) picking up steam as the "apéritif du jour." Appropriate, given the fact that the category derives its name from the Latin "aperio" meaning "to open," and is intended to rouse and awaken the appetite before a meal. It is inevitable that with its list of ingre- dients—herbs, flowers, fruit peels, seeds, plants and other botanicals—vermouth