Capitoline White Vermouth 750ml

Capitoline began in the mid-2000s within the Italian restaurant world of Washington, D.C., where Etto's Peter Pastan and bar manager Kat Hamidi first started making house vermouth. After years of tinkering, the brand officially launched in 2015 as the first commercially available vermouth made in the District, produced by hand at New Columbia Distillers, the Ivy City home of Green Hat Gin, before production later moved to Rosemont Winery in Virginia. White Vermouth reflects Hamidi's own heritage, with several of its botanicals drawn as a nod to her Persian background.

White starts with an AVA-certified white wine from Santa Barbara, sourced from varieties like Albariño and Chardonnay and chosen with the same care given to a standalone wine rather than as a neutral carrier. That base is fortified with grape spirit infused with fourteen select botanicals, including saffron, Meyer lemon, rose petals, cardamom, chamomile, and cinnamon, built around the idea that bitterness and wine character deserve as much attention as sweetness.

The result pours a rich golden hue, with rose and chamomile blossom mingling with honeyed saffron and sweet citrus on the nose. The palate is pleasingly unctuous yet balanced by bright acidity, with warm cinnamon and quinine carrying through to a long, herbal finish.