Antica Formula

Antica Formula is the flagship sweet vermouth from Carpano, the Turin producer credited with making the world's first commercial vermouth back in 1786. It was created by herbalist Antonio Benedetto Carpano, who set out to make fortified Muscat wine more palatable, and the recipe has barely changed since. Carpano has been owned by Milan based Fratelli Branca Distillerie since 2001, though production has stayed true to the same methods and ingredients that built its reputation.

The blend is built around wormwood grown in the Alps of Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, alongside vanilla from Madagascar and Tahiti and a touch of Iranian saffron, giving it a deep, dried fruit character with a distinctive vanilla note. It sits at the richer, fuller bodied end of the wider liqueur shelf, central to classic cocktails such as the Manhattan and the Negroni as much as it is worth sipping neat over ice.