It was a rather fab Sydney restaurateur (she knows who she is!) who put us onto Belsazar. German Vermouth? We were intrigued. After we tasted samples we were more than interested. The key to understanding the Belsazar style starts in the vineyards of the Baden-Württemberg - dubbed the “Tuscany of Germany“ for its sun drenched, rolling patchwork of vineyards. Sure, the stereotype tells us that modern vermouth starts with a neutral wine, but that’s not what the distillers/partners behind Belsazar (Max Wagner, Philipp Schladerer and Sebastian Brack) choose to do here. Rather, each Belsazar...
It was a rather fab Sydney restaurateur (she knows who she is!) who put us onto Belsazar. German Vermouth? We were intrigued. After we tasted samples we were more than interested. The key to understanding the Belsazar style starts in the vineyards of the Baden-Württemberg - dubbed the “Tuscany of Germany“ for its sun drenched, rolling patchwork of vineyards. Sure, the stereotype tells us that modern vermouth starts with a neutral wine, but that’s not what the distillers/partners behind Belsazar (Max Wagner, Philipp Schladerer and Sebastian Brack) choose to do here. Rather, each Belsazar vermouth starts out as a quality organic wine selected and assembled from a variety of growers, (including members of Germany’s quality wine VDP Association). Belsazar also keep it local for their ‘macerates’, a complex range of herbs, spices, blossom, husks and peel (centred around two types of wormwood – Grand and Pontic), all prepared by hand, and matured with the wines in large demijohns. Each variety of Belsazar is flavoured with its own unique bill of additions.
Then another local twist comes in the form of Black Forest grape must which, refined with Brandy and matured in small oak barrels, is used as the sweetening agent instead of the typical refined sugar used in most vermouths. In another innovation, Belsazar’s finishing touch comes from a dash of fruit brandy. The Schladerer Distillery, in the Black Forest, has been producing its famous fruit brandies using only natural ingredients since 1844. By using eau de vie instead of the more traditional neutral spirit for fortification, Belsazar has brought a unique, complex, fruity twist to each of their finished wines. Finally, (phew), there’s the blending, which takes up to three months in 1,000 litre, neutral stone casks, to allow the components to fully integrate and to avoid any masking characters from wood maturation.
That’s the basics. What do they taste like? In a word: terrific. Loosely inspired by historical recipes, updated with a contemporary understanding of botanicals and distillation, these are intense, flavour rich creations based on the highest quality locally sourced ingredients. The meticulous way in which the wines have been crafted, from the vineyard up, makes them hugely successful on the rocks and as easy drinking apéritif serves. Indeed, much of Belsazar’s initial success was built on their delicious simplicity combined with one or two other ingredients in fresh long drinks. On the cocktail front, whether as a base or modifier, the quality of the ingredients are apparent, and yet each vermouth displays a clever balance and the subtlety to allow the other ingredients to shine through. Most importantly, Belsazar’s drinks are made for pleasure, and on that front they certainly nail the brief.
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