Thirsty Thursday - La Dolce Vita

Carpano Dry Vermouth Blanco, Torino

Special price: $20 (Regularly $25) 

Forget everything you think you know about "dry." This isn't a pale imitation of the French; it’s a 200-year-old Turin legacy in a glass. Born in 2019 from the hands of Fratelli Carpano, it uses native Piedmontese wine and 32 botanicals—including wormwood plucked from the heights of Val d’Aosta. At a precise 18% ABV, it offers a saline, mineral snap that makes Martinis sing and Negronis dance. It's the ultimate partner for aged cheeses and grilled seafood—sophistication, fortified. 

Poli Gran Bassano Vermouth, Veneto

Special price: $20 (Regularly $25) 

Think of this as a liquid spice route. This recipe was built on the backs of Venetian merchants returning from the edges of the world with trunks full of cardamom, cinnamon, myrrh, and turmeric. America eventually chipped in with vanilla and quinine bark. It’s a globetrotting botanical masterpiece that manages to feel perfectly at home in a glass in Baltimore. 

Sarti Aperitivo, Bologna

Special price: $28 (Regularly $35) 

Bologna gave us great pasta, but Sarti gave us the spirit of reinvention. Since 1885, Casa Luigi Sarti & Figli has been playing with expectations, and Sarti Rosa is their latest creative genius at work. It’s a sophisticated bridge between tradition and the future—delightfully fresh, terrifyingly easy to mix, and the liquid equivalent of a perfectly tailored Italian suit. 

Cappelletti Mazzuri Aperitivo, Trento

Special price: $20 (Regularly $25) 

If the Dolomite hills had a signature color, this stunning fuchsia would be it. Sourced from the birthplace of the spritz, Mazzura gets its glow from a secret, all-natural, vegan-friendly blend of fruits and flowers. It’s multidimensional, slightly rebellious, and looks absolutely spectacular under the golden hour sun. 

Contratto Vermouth Rosso, Piedmont

Special price: $24 (Regularly $30) 

Crafted in Piedmont since the 1890s, this is the vermouth that originally taught oxidized wines how to behave. It’s a rich, historical blend of herbs and spices that leans a little lighter on the sugar and alcohol than its blanco cousins. Whether it’s anchoring a complex cocktail or standing solo on a rock, it’s a classic that refuses to go out of style. 

Cocktails

Sartoni

2 oz Sarti Aperitivo

3 oz Tonic water

1 oz Gin

Fill a highball glass with ice, add ingredients and stir. Perfecto!

Rome with a View

2 oz Mazzuri Aperitivo

1 oz Carpano Dry Vermouth

½ oz lime juice

2 dashes orange bitters

Give it a vigorous stir with plenty of ice and strain it into an 'up' glass.