I picked up this 375ml bottle of vermouth at one of my favorite liquor stores and was immediately intrigued. Imbue vermouth is already a local staple and this bottle seemed to be a small batch release. Neil Kopplin of Imbue was kind enough to confirm that this is a barrel aged version of their normal Petal and Thorn aperitif. Rested in french oak barrels for one year outside in the Oregon weather where it ranged from 98 to 28 degrees. This small bottling was released in 2015 but the result was so good they have committed to incorporating the process into future products.
Bottled at 18% and individually numbered the bottles also include the latitude and longitude where the barrels were rested. The corks feature a wax seal which gives them just a little touch of class.
Despite the barrel aging it doesn’t have an overly oaked flavor. It blooms with a floral note and then sways into a more bitter tinge. Like many vermouths this is a fine thing to drink on its own, blends well with gin and other cocktails. Because it’s not a sweet vermouth or a “dry” vermouth there may be any number of cocktails where this won’t work well but it’s a wonderful drink all the same.
Shaker and Spreadsheet 