SaurabhVermouth is a fortified wine aromatized with various spices, herbs, flowers, seeds, roots, and barks. You can choose between two main types of vermouth-sweet and dry. But there are also other types like rose, amber, red, sweet-white, and extra-dry white.
Sweet vermouth has a red color and sweet, herbal flavor with hints of cocoa, vanilla, spice, caramel, and dark fruits. While the dry type of vermouth has a white or pale yellow color and herbal, floral, and fruity flavor.
Because vermouth is fortified wine it contains more alcohol than non-fortified wine. It is usually used as an aperitif and ingredient in different cocktails like Negroni, Martini, Manhattan, Gibson, Rose, and Bronx.
Vermouth is also used in cooking in many different recipes as a substitute for wine. You can use dry vermouth instead of the white vine and sweet vermouth instead of the red vine in your recipes to give them a beautiful herbal and earthy flavor.
But what if your cocktail or cooking recipe calls for sweet vermouth and you don’t have it on hand? Well, don’t worry because we have some suggestions for pretty good ingredients you can use as a substitute for sweet vermouth.
Great substitutes for sweet vermouth include dry red wine, sweet red wine, sherry, port, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, amaro Averna, or some of the next products.
Let’s learn more about each substitute below!
Best Sweet Vermouth Substitute
Sweet vermouth has a distinctive flavor that is not easy to substitute. You can use some of these ingredients below as a substitute for sweet vermouth both in cooking and as an ingredient in your favorite cocktails.
1. Dry red wine
Dry red wine is a good substitute for sweet vermouth that you can use in many different recipes. There are various types of dry red wine and they all have their characteristic flavor.
Dry red wine besides for drinking is also used for cooking. You can use it in stews, marinades, sauces, glazes, desserts, or braise beef, lamb, pork, or any other type of red meat to enhance its flavor. Substitute sweet vermouth with dry red wine in a 1:1 ratio.
2. Sweet red wine
Sweet red wine has more residual sugar than dry red wine and has a sweeter flavor. Red wines usually have an earthy flavor with hints of red or black fruits, spices, herbs, and flowers.
Sweet red wine is usually used in desserts and pairs good with soft cheeses and smoked meats. You can use sweet red wine as a substitute for sweet vermouth in a 1:1 ratio.
3. Sherry
Sherry is a good substitute for sweet vermouth in cocktails and cooking. You can use dry sherry as a substitute for sweet vermouth in your cocktails and cooking.
There are many different types of sherry. And most of them have nutty, saline, and dried fruit flavors. And depending on the type, sherry works well with white meats, olives, almonds, seafood, cheese, rice pudding, and many other ingredients.
Sherry is not as sweet as sweet vermouth but will give a nice flavor to your recipes and cocktails. You can use dry sherry in desserts, cocktails, and cooking sherry in your savory recipes in a 1:1 ratio as a substitute for sweet vermouth.
4. Port
Port wine is a fortified sweet wine that pairs well with caramel as well as chocolate desserts, soft cheeses, fresh raspberries, fresh peaches, salted nuts, smoked meats, and other ingredients.
Depending on the type, port wine can have caramel, chocolate, raspberry, blackberry, and cinnamon flavors.
You can use the white port as a substitute for sweet vermouth in cocktails. Tawny ports and ruby ports, on the other hand, can be a great substitute for sweet vermouth in different sauces, stews, marinades, casseroles, desserts, and other sweet and savory recipes.
Substitute sweet vermouth with a port in a 1:1 ratio.
5. Red wine vinegar
Red wine vinegar is a non-alcoholic substitute for sweet vermouth you can use in recipes. It is made of red wine and has an acidic, slightly sweet flavor.
You can use red wine vinegar as a substitute for sweet vermouth in marinades, sauces, dressings, and other recipes to balance the other flavors with its sour notes.
Substitute 1 cup of sweet vermouth with 1/3 of a cup red wine vinegar mixed with 2/3 of a cup water.
6. Balsamic vinegar
Balsamic vinegar is made from grapes fermented in wooden barrels. It has a specific rich, sweet, acidic flavor and thick texture. Balsamic vinegar works well in many salad dressings, risottos, marinades, sauces, vegetable dishes, and desserts.
You can use balsamic vinegar as a substitute for sweet vermouth in both sweet and savory recipes. Use 1/3 of a cup balsamic vinegar mixed with 2/3 of cup water as a substitute for 1 cup of sweet vermouth.
7. Amaro Averna
Amaro Averna is a liqueur flavored with different roots, citrus, and herbs. It has a bitter-sweet flavor with hints of caramel, anise, rosemary, sage, citrus, myrtle, and juniper berries.
Amaro Averna is a type of Italian amaro liqueur which is usually served on its own as a digestif and in cocktails. One of the cocktails where amaro Averna is one of the key ingredients in Black Manhattan.
You can use amaro Averna as a substitute for sweet vermouth in cocktails in a 1:1 ratio.
8. Grape juice
Grape juice can be used as a non-alcoholic substitute for sweet vermouth as well. But because it is sweeter than sweet vermouth you will have to use it in smaller amounts.
Substitute 1 cup of sweet vermouth with ½ cup of red grape juice in marinades, sauces, desserts, and other sweet and savory recipes.
9. Sweet Madeira
Sweet Madeira is a fortified wine with rich, nutty flavor and caramel, brown sugar, and honey hints. It pairs well with dried fruits, blue cheeses, chocolate desserts, and sweet pastries with nuts, berries, and honey.
Sweet Madeira is served as a digestif and dessert wine. You can use this wine as a substitute for sweet vermouth in recipes in a 1:1 ratio.
10. Lillet blanc
Lillet blanc is aromatized wine with slightly sweet, light, and refreshing flavor and herbal, floral, and citrus hints. It is used as an aperitif and an ingredient in cocktails and drinks.
Lillet blanc is not as sweet as sweet vermouth but you can use it in your cocktails to give them a nice refreshing flavor. Substitute sweet vermouth with Lillet blanc in a 1:1 ratio.
Sweet Vermouth Substitute Non-Alcoholic
There are different non-alcoholic substitutes for sweet vermouth you can use in cooking recipes and cocktails. They include grape juice, red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar. While non-alcoholic types of vermouth can be used as a substitute for sweet vermouth in cocktails.
Sweet Vermouth Substitute Dry Vermouth
Since they have different flavors, it is not a good idea to use dry vermouth as a substitute for sweet vermouth in your cocktails. Sweet vermouth works best in bitter-sweet cocktails like Manhattan, while dry vermouth is used in cocktails with fresh and light flavors like a martini. Dry vermouth has less sugar than sweet vermouth, therefore you will not obtain the same sweetness that sweet vermouth gives to cocktails.
Sweet Vermouth Substitute Cooking
There are many ingredients you can use as a substitute for sweet vermouth in cooking like dry red wine, sweet red wine, grape juice, balsamic vinegar, sherry, red wine vinegar, port, and sweet Madeira in your recipes. They will give a different flavor to your foods, so you could enjoy them more than sweet vermouth.
Conclusion
Sweet vermouth is a versatile drink you can use in your cocktails and as a cooking ingredient to enhance the flavor of your recipes. And during the cooking, the alcohol will evaporate leaving a beautiful flavor and tasty dish.
However, if you have run out of sweet vermouth I hope that some of these ingredients will help you to achieve a similar flavor to the sweet vermouth flavor you are used to.
