Azaline Saffron Vermouth is made by the legendary Gabriel Boudier, which has been in the business of making terrific drinks since 1874 (so you know the family-owned company has got the hang of it). This expression explores a host of fantastic, exciting flavours, built around a core of Pinot Noir grapes and a selection of herbs and spices from across the globe. It features saffron, imparting hugely aromatic florals and spicy elements, alongside the likes of cardamom, coriander, tarragon, juniper, gentian, orange peel, and blackcurrant. Superb for adding a burst of red fruit and herbaceous richness to a Spritz or a Negroni, but it also happens to work great in whisky-based cocktails too.
Vibrant cherry and dried red fruit, followed by earthy saffron and tarragon, with a crackle of cooking spice. This leads back into a lingering fruit-forward sweetness, balanced by enjoyably bitter herbaceousness.
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I’m half way through a bottle but I still dont know whether I like it or not. As the only vermouth in a negroni it is just too much and overpowers everything. I think sparing use together with another more neutral vermouth like martini Rosso works in a Negroni. Just not sure about the flavours.
Another perfect product from Boudier… Incomparable. The richness, the swirl of complex aromas, the balance of sugar (I do not like sweet) and the touch of saffron … just as their crème the cassis this vermouth can be appreciated on its own of will make a terrific cocktail especially paired with a noble gin for an out of this world negroni.
I found it a tad to strong, resembling medicinal drinks - however combining with the right gin and Campari cask tales it will give you a nice Negroni
A number of vermouths and herbal liqueurs list saffron among their suite of botanicals but I've yet to try one in which I could clearly taste saffron. That is not the case here. Azaline's saffron flavour is not subtle. Any cocktail you make with it will be a saffron cocktail. If you cook with it, your house will smell like saffron. Fortunately for me, I like saffron, and fortunately for the makers, so do a lot of other people. To be clear, this is an excellent vermouth on its own terms, but given the potency of the saffron element, it's necessarily going to have a narrower range of use/admirers than a more standard offering. But there's nothing wrong with that.
Wasn't sure about this when sipping straight, but it made the best negroni I've ever had. I then made a wonderful Principessa (50/50 with white rum - the new one from Duppy Share). Staggeringly good. Perhaps not as versatile as Cocchi Torino or Antica. If you're looking for a vermouth for Manhattans, I'd go for one of those instead.
