Though the range has widened, the classic brands endure, with a preference for Italian over French, according to our poll. Six of the 10 are Italian.
Topping the list this year is Cocchi, a sweet vermouth of the Torino school and a classic of some 120 years. In around half of bars polled, it was one of the top-three vermouths used and the go-to in more than a quarter of cases. Expect Cocchi to remain at the top next year – ahead of Mancino, it is the trending vermouth this year.
Another historic Italian brand, Antica Formula, was more likely a second choice than Cocchi but was on the podium of vermouths in almost half the bars polled. Martini, which takes a solid third, comes in the gamut of classic sweet, white and dry styles and, more recently, its bitter-sweet orange vermouth Fiero, designed to be paired with tonic. French classics DOlin and Noily Prat complete the top five and, while they offer a clutch of styles, are prixed for their dry white vermouths.
In branding and presence Mancino - which is in seventh spot - feels like it's been around for centuries. Its bartender founder Giancarlo Mancino has gained a foothold in Asia and is expanding west. That Manchino is second in our trending list suggests it's a hot brand.
Belsazar, the German vermouth which was bought by Diageo last year, makes its first appearance in the bestselling list. It was very much the uber-hipster vermouth and, with Diageo's distribution behinnd it, could rise in the charts in the coming years.
Methodology
The results of this report are the culmination of a questionnaire of 106 bars around the world, each cherry-picked to take part based on their performance in global bar awards. We aim to find out not only which brands sell best but also what’s trending. These two data sets give us an insight into the brands that are doing the most volume and the brands that are hot right now.
To read more on the methodology of the Brands Report click here.
