Vermouth No 5

Vermouth is a wine based product, so making an alcohol free version means starting with dealcoholized wine rather than a botanical distillate. That is exactly the route Laori took. The base is dealcoholized wine, built out with herb and spice extracts, citric and tartaric acid and a touch of caramel colour. Herbal notes of orange, gentian and wormwood carry it, full bodied and floral and spicy at once. Wormwood is the botanical that defines vermouth, so its presence is not decoration. Use it as the vermouth in an alcohol free negroni, or lengthen it with tonic or Laori Sparkling White for a wildberry spritz. It sits under 0.5 percent alcohol at 95 calories per 100 mL. Once opened, treat it like real vermouth and finish it within three months rather than leaving it out on the shelf.