Cocchi

Cocchi was founded in Asti in 1891 by Giulio Cocchi, a pastry chef by trade who settled in the Piedmont region and became fascinated by the local custom of blending wine with herbs and spices. He built his range of aromatised wines around Moscato grown in the surrounding hills, and the vermouth style he helped popularise soon found favour well beyond Italy. The Bava family has run Cocchi since 1978, still following Giulio's original recipes.

The vermouth itself is based on Moscato wine infused with a secret blend of local and imported botanicals, following a recipe that dates back to 1891. Vermouth di Torino carries its own protected designation of origin, one of only two vermouth styles in the world to do so, alongside France's Chambéry. It makes a good base for a simple aperitivo, or sits well alongside other liqueurs behind the bar for building classic cocktails at home.