Get into the Negroni Week spirit with these must-try Australian-made vermouths

Loborn, Tamborine Mountain

Inspired by the herbal elixirs crafted by medieval monks, Loborn was driven to craft Italy’s famous bitter aperifis using local Australian botanicals to create distinctly modern sips. Sitting among its signature Amaro offering, Loborn offers a finely crafted red vermouth, inspired by the rich landscape of Tamborine Mountain that the distillery calls home. Crafted on a foundation of Chardonnay grapes, this red vermouth merges flavours of rich caramelised honey, the tartness of rhubarb and a hint of bright orange. With a finished balance of subtly savoury and gently salted sweetness, this is a vermouth to captivate discerning palates.

Maidenii, Central Victoria

The tale of the bartender and the wine maker is almost as old as vermouth itself, and a tradition that Shaun Byrne and Gilles Lapalus of Maidenii are more than happy to carry forward. With Shaun mixing drinks since he came of legal age and Gilles hailing from the Cluny region of Burgundy, you could say both men have alcohol running through their veins. The two formed Maidenii in 2011, inspired by Joseph Maiden who was a stalwart champion of the eucalypt, acacia and the oft-neglected wealth of Australian botanical novelty. Those same botanicals for which the distillery was named feature across Maidenii’s core range of classic, sweet and dry vermouths, spotlighting local flavours of strawberry gum, Tasmanian pepperberry, wormwood, wattle seed, river mint, sea parsley, angelica root and much more.

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Naturi Vermouth, South Australia

The Naturi team truly believes in the magical and curative powers of vermouth. Without forsaking the storied history of the aperitif, Naturi handcrafts its core range in small batches using high-quality table wines and premium barrel-aged brandy, infused with their own blend of spices and botanicals sourced from Australian bushland. Crafted with beach succulents and seaweed, the Naturi Dirty Dry vermouth evokes flavours of fresh herbs, honey, chamomile and butterscotch, while across the bar the Rosso vermouth hones in on fennel and nutmeg for a finished taste of chocolate, Early Grey and red plum. Completing the brand’s vermouth offering is the Naturi Per Spritz, a complexly-layered fruity tipple with notes of strawberry, peach, apricot and English breakfast tea.

Old Dog Vermouth, Samford Valley

Old Dog Vermouth is a testament to the great things that can happen when a group of friends come together to create something they love. Since 2015, Old Dog has been alchemising at Auchen Eden, its small-batch production site in the Samford Valley, where no two batches are quite the same. Every bottle is brewed on a base of locally sourced wine from South Burnett apothecaries and then lightly fortified with Australian grape spirit. A cold-brewing and course-filter process then slowly extracts flavours of Australian botanicals, spices and flowers to capture seasonal flavours, which are then combined with a range of herbal remedies known to Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. Across the lemon myrtle flavours of its Bianco vermouth and the roasted rhubarb and dandelion notes of the Rosso, the results are a delicate balance of the traditional bitter sweet flavours of vermouth, with essential core botanicals of wormwood and gentian remaining.

Regal Rogue, Sydney

Championing Australia’s native botanicals, Regal Rogue has been subverting the rich traditions of European vermouth since 2011, with nutrient-rich ingredients sourced from Indigenous communities. Through bold flavours like desert lime, aniseed myrtle, quandong, pepperberry, rosella, Illawara plum and native thyme, Australia’s unique landscape shines through the distiller’s vermouth offering to create incomparable tasting experiences. The Regal Rogue offering includes the floral Lively White, savoury Daring Dry, aromatic Bold Red and tropical Wild Rosé. With a strong organic philosophy, each bottle is purposely blended with Australian wine from sustainably farmed grapes and reduced raw sugar to create vegan-friendly, gluten-free and naturally bright varietals delivered in recycled and recyclable packaging.

Saison Vermouth, Melbourne

Perhaps vermouth’s traditional dark and heavy flavours are better suited to a European palate and climate, but Saison Aperitifs simply refused to conform to their northern hemisphere forebears. Instead chef and bitter drinks maker Dave Verheul was certain that a brighter and fresher tonic would yield better success with an Australian audience when he launched Saison in 2020, named for the brand’s seasonal philosophy. Though Saison turns traditional vermouth on its head, it doesn’t believe in shortcuts. Here, vermouth is made the long way, beginning with a single core ingredient and then obsessively crafted and layered with hand-picked wild herbs, fruit, flowers and the essential ingredient – Australian grown wormwood. Just have a listen to these elements; fresh jasmine, elderflower, chyrsanthemum blossoms of the White Flowers vermouth; Spring Rhubarb’s magnolia, lavender, violet blossoms; wood-roasted pineapple, saffron, blood orange in Fallen Quinces, the classic Red vermouth’s vanilla, liquorice, rose; and Black Walnut’s cumquat, bay leaf and roasted barley koji. You can practically taste the years of experience in each sip.

Unico Zelo, Adelaide Hills

It’s not unusual for a couple of 20 year olds to be obsessed with wine, but it is out of the ordinary for them to kickstart a winery, distillery and vineyard with a sustainable ethos. Such is the origin story of Unico Zelo (named for the unique zeal of its founders), where drought resistant grapes offer a fresh and sustainable perspective on its wine varietals – including the herby, fortified kind. With a strong vermouth offering across its Rosa, Yuzu and Pomelo bottles, Unico Zelo’s love for wine shines through in the details. With a B Corp certification, Unico Zelo’s grapes use only a quarter of the water required for the usual varieties to make vegan friendly sips, distilled on 99 percent solar-powered facilities – they even list the soil type that each bottle’s grapes grew from.