Vermouth Caperitif

Danish mixologist Lars Erik Lyndgaard Schmidt discovered it in the legendary book The Savoy Cocktail, where the best cocktails of the 1920s are collected. There, in this work by Harry Craddock (considered the bartender's bible), something called Camperitif appeared as an ingredient in the Manyan cocktail and other drinks of the decade.

Determined to find out what it was, he began an investigation which not only led him to learn that it was a South African macerate marketed by Castle Wine and Spirits Com, but also discovered the recipe for this drink that was discontinued when the company went bankrupt.

He was helped in this task by the well-known winemaker Adi Badenhorst (co-founder of Badenhorst Family Wines), who after several trials and attempts finally settled on a recipe and ingredients: Chenin blanc base wine and a great mix of botanicals from Swartland (Western Cape region of South Africa), such as bitter quinoa, fynbos (a typical bush of the region), grapefruit, rooibos, African wormwood and clementines.

However, the key component was calamus, a herb native to India, southern Russia and Central Asia that also grows in South Africa. In particular, the leaves of the latter herb (banned in foods in the U.S. since 1960) have been used as a medicinal cure and as a substitute for ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg.

Thus the latest version of Vermouth Caperitif came into existence, a fortified wine that returns 100 years later stronger than ever. Today, although the recipe is known, no two bottles of Vermouth Caperitif are the same. The reason for this is the different maceration times in the demijohns, with each batch being different according to the season and the amount of botanicals available depending on the time of year.