Is ‘dry’ by any other name still as sweet? It all depends

There is a saying that suggests that New Year’s resolutions are merely a to-do list for the first week of January. And if there has ever been a January to agree with that, this one might be it. Dry January is a thing. But, when it comes to alcohol and the word “dry,” things are not always what they seem.

In its most basic understanding, dry is the opposite of sweet. Dry white wine is less sweet than non-dry white wine, dry mixers are less sweet than regular mixers, and so on. Those seem pretty obvious. But, things get pretty obscure pretty quickly. For instance, triple sec is a French liqueur that is the backbone of many cocktails: margaritas, cosmopolitans, sidecars, etc. Sec means “dry” in French, however triple sec is actually one of the sweetest liqueurs.

The word “sec” is also used in champagne to denote a sweet rather than a dry wine. Brut is the American standby word for dry (invented by and then borrowed from the French), but the French word “brut” actually means “brute” as in “brutishly acidic” and was coined as a backhanded slap at American taste sensibilities. Sauvage came along later and means what it sounds like — “savage.” Boy those French can be mean.

We also hear a lot about dry martinis, which utilize dry vermouth. Dry vermouth is less sweet than “sweet” vermouth, but the dry martini probably takes its name from dry gin as opposed to dry vermouth. Otherwise, an extra, extra, dry martini would have more dry vermouth and not less, right?

We forget that gin (originally British) was once sweetened for the American market,, but that old-style and very “sweet” Old Tom gin (an ingredient in the martini’s forerunner, the Martinez) has so far resisted every attempt at reintroduction. It would appear that while many Americans like things sweet, two things they don’t like sweet are gin and sparkling wine. Go figure.

Then, there’s the dry Manhattan, which is not a Manhattan with less vermouth — it is a Manhattan with a different type of vermouth. Which then further begs the question: What is an extra-dry Manhattan? Less vermouth? Different vermouth? No vermouth?

So, with all that information stirred about, I have taken the liberty of offering up three “dry” versions of your favorite cocktails for the end of your dry January in order to better clarify things, all localized for your consumption.

The French didn’t invent the phrase “double entendre” for nothing.

Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on iTunes and an award-winning bartender at a local restaurant. Follow him at jeffburkhart.net and contact him at jeffbarflyIJ@outlook.com  

RECIPES

Dry Manhattan

2 ½ ounces Barber Lee Spirits single malt rye whiskey

1 ounce Lo-Fi Aperitifs dry vermouth

1 lemon twist

Combine vermouth and whiskey in a mixing glass with ice and stir until ice cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the olive or the lemon twist.

Note: Dry vermouth is not white vermouth (Bianco). White vermouth tastes similar to sweet vermouth, which is not surprising because they are pretty close to the same product. Both are made from white wine, originated in Italy and have similar flavor profiles, but red vermouth gets the addition of caramel, which adds both color and additional flavor.

Dry vermouth (or French vermouth) is quite different and has a pronounced mouth-puckering “dry” quality, similar to quinine tonics. Dry vermouth is also often oxidized (sometimes on purpose). Lo-Fi creates a dry vermouth that is not oxidized, and it lends a unique fresh “dry” flavor to this classic drink. A green olive is the classic garnish, but for the life of me I can’t bring myself to put one in my whiskey.

Dry Raspberry Royale

4 ounces Domaine Carneros Ultra Brut

¾ ounce Falcon Spirits Distillery “dry” raspberry liqueur

1 fresh red raspberry (or 1 hard sour raspberry candy)

Add raspberry liqueur to the bottom of a champagne flute. Slowly add sparkling wine, creating a subtle layered effect. Run a cocktail pick through the fresh raspberry and suspend over rim or drop candy into the bottom (dropping the fresh raspberry in will cause the drink to foam up and over).

Note: A take on the classic kir royale, this drink is both drier and more refreshing as a result of the higher alcohol dryness of the raspberry liqueur (60 proof) and the bone-dry “ultra” brut, which is one notch above traditional brut, but a notch below the driest of all sparkling designations: brut natural.

‘Perfect’ Medium-dry Martini

2 ounces Alamere Spirits London “dry’ gin

¾ ounce Quady Winery Vya “whisper” dry vermouth

¾ ounce Quady Winery Vya  “sweet” vermouth

1 lemon zest

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until ice cold. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with the lemon twist.

Note: This isn’t you parents’ James Bond martini. Well, actually it sort of is, if they drank gin and because the clear one we’ve been led to believe Bond drank would’ have been impossible once you added the sweet vermouth. The 1950s book-reading public knew that, but the 1960s movie producers made an executive decision that tough guy Sean Connery sipping a pink drink was more than the movie-going public could handle. Now, Roger Moore on the other hand …

We’ve taken the liberty of replacing Bond’s vodka with a dry London gin made by the French former owners of Le Garage (because why not?), and if we further substituted whiskey for the gin, it would be known as a “perfect” Manhattan. Ain’t cocktails fun?