Bordiga Excelsior Sweet Vermouth 750ml

Experience vermouth as it was meant to be with Bordiga's Excelsior Sweet Vermouth, a testament to Torino's historic supremacy in aromatized wine production. This exceptional bottling resurrects the golden age of Italian aperitif culture, when vermouth was savored neat rather than relegated to cocktail supporting roles. Using time-honored methods and pristine alpine botanicals, Excelsior stands as one of the finest examples of Vermouth di Torino available today.

The superiority of Excelsior begins with its wine base—100% Piedmontese varietals selected for their ability to harmonize with botanical infusions. Unlike industrial producers who mask inferior wine with excessive sugar and artificial flavoring, Bordiga starts with quality and builds from there. The botanical recipe includes locally foraged wormwood (the herb that gives vermouth its name), wild gentian, rhubarb root, and citrus peels, along with exotic spices like Ceylon cinnamon and Madagascan vanilla. Each element is macerated separately in grain alcohol before being carefully blended with the wine base and aged in neutral oak to achieve perfect integration.

On the palate, Excelsior Sweet Vermouth reveals why this category deserves standalone appreciation. The initial impression balances wine-like structure with herbal complexity—notes of dried cherry and fig from the wine base intertwine with bitter orange, cardamom, and star anise. The sweetness is present but restrained, allowing botanical nuances of alpine herbs, quinine, and subtle wood notes to emerge. The texture is rich without being syrupy, coating the palate with flavors that evolve from fruit to spice to a pleasantly bitter, wine-driven finish. While sublime in classic cocktails like the Negroni or Manhattan, Excelsior truly shines served neat over ice with an orange twist, revealing layers of complexity that cheaper vermouths can only dream of achieving.