8 Things You Should About Dolin, Bartenders’ Go-To Vermouth Brand

Vermouth can be sipped neat, made into highballs with a splash of soda, or mixed into countless cocktails. With a profile and ABV sitting comfortably in the middle ground between wine and spirits, it’s arguably one of the most versatile liquids in any bartender’s arsenal. And even though multiple brands compete in the space, Dolin French vermouth remains one of — if not the most — well-respected crowd favorites, especially for its dry and blanc expressions. Odds are, if you’ve had a few Martinis in your time, you’ve likely enjoyed Dolin whether or not you know it.

Every one of the Dolin’s vermouths is cost-effective, delicious (yet subtle), and made with tried-and-true recipes that date back to the early 19th century. Every bottle hails from the French Alpine town of Chambéry, and is produced with domestically sourced wines, botanicals, and spices. When faced with a wall of options at the liquor store, drinkers can rest assured that reaching for Dolin is a low-risk, high-reward endeavor.

Beyond its back bar ubiquity, there’s a lot to the brand in terms of history and production that make it so widely beloved. From bringing blanc vermouth to the masses, taking a cue from Chartreuse-making monks, and staying independently owned from the get-go, here are eight things you should know about Dolin.

Dolin probably wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Chartreuse.

After becoming trained in the art of confectionery-making in southeastern France’s city of Grenoble, a young Joseph Chavasse moved to the nearby commune of Les Échelles in 1814. There, he fell in love with the liqueurs made by the Carthusian monks from the Grande Chartreuse monastery, which are now sold under the Chartreuse brand name. According to Dolin, the Chartreuse products inspired Chavasse to pursue a career in distillation. He built a distillery, started producing fruit liqueurs, and in early 1821, he began making vermouth.

The ‘Dolin’ name comes from the company founder’s son-in-law

In 1830, Chavasse relocated his distilling operations to the then-booming French Alpine town of Chambéry. Over the next few years, he became best known for his vermouths, but sadly passed away in 1840. His daughter Marie married a local man, Louis-Ferdinand Dolin, shortly thereafter, and he bought the family distillery in 1852. To honor the company’s core product — and himself — he dubbed the distillery “Vermout Dolin,” which eventually got shortened to just “Dolin.”

Dolin’s vermouth recipes are a closely guarded company secret.

As is the case with Chartreuse, Dolin’s vermouth recipes are a closely guarded secret passed down from generation to generation. The company has, however, shared some details on what goes into its products. Dolin claims that its dry vermouth contains 15 different botanicals and spices, including wormwood, rose, and brooklime. Between 30 and 40 plants and spices feature in the brand’s red vermouth recipe, including rhubarb, coriander, and hyssop as a few confirmed ingredients. For its white (a.k.a. blanc) vermouth, Dolin uses a blend of 32 plants and spices, with basil, hibiscus, gentian, cinnamon, and artemisia in the mix.

All Dolin vermouths are made with white wine grapes.

We may only know a handful of the ingredients that make up the botanical bills of Dolin vermouths, but the brand has also peeled back the curtain on the grapes it uses. According to its website, all of its vermouths are made with the white wine grape Ugni Blanc, which is also the primary grape for Cognac and Armagnac production. The grape is a high-acid, yet relatively neutral variety, making it a great canvas for the myriad botanicals that flavor Dolin vermouths.

The brand was instrumental in the creation of French blanc vermouth.

Sweet and dry are the two best-known styles of vermouth, but they have a lesser-known sibling called blanc vermouth (in France) or bianco vermouth (in Italy) that simultaneously lands dry, sweet, and floral. There are competing theories as to who invented the style, but they all point to two producers in Chambéry: Dolin and the House of Comoz. It is said that both companies started producing their takes on blanc vermouth in 1881, with the former’s expression being sweeter and fruitier and Comoz’s blanc being more herbaceous. By the early 20th century, vermouth producers in Italy had begun making their own versions of the style, dubbing their products “bianco vermouth.” The House of Comoz closed in 1981, but Dolin has since resurrected the brand.

Dolin is one of only two producers that honor France’s Vermouth de Chambéry A.O. guidelines.

According to Haus Alpenz — the company that imports Dolin to the U.S. — there was a vermouth boom all over France following the introduction of blanc vermouth, with many brands using the “Chambéry” name as a mark of quality even if they were based elsewhere. To prevent imitators, producers in the region successfully established an Appellation d’ Origine (A.O.) for Vermouth de Chambéry in 1932. Up until 2017 when the A.O. lapsed, vermouths bearing the town’s name had to be produced under specific circumstances: They had to be made in Chambéry, produced by macerating real plants, and sweetened only with grape must, wine, or sugar. Currently, there are only two companies in Chambéry that follow these production guidelines: Distillerie des Alpes and Dolin.

Dolin makes more than just vermouth.

Although Dolin is one of the few household vermouth names, the company has been making other products since its inception. Joseph Chavasse started by making génépi, an herbaceous alpine liqueur. In 1902, Dolin began producing Chambéryzette, a bottled mix of blanc vermouth and strawberry liqueur. When French vermouth brands were losing market share to their Italian counterparts in the mid-20th century, Dolin launched a line of fruit syrups to help bolster its sales. Dolin not only still produces all of the above, but it also makes a slew of other apéritifs, liqueurs, and even eaux-de-vie.

Only two families have run the company in its 200-plus-year history.

The Dolin brand remained in the Chavasse-Dolin family from its heyday in the early 1800s up until 1919. When several family members passed away during World War I, the Chavasse-Dolins decided it was time to sell the business. Luckily, Chambéry-based family friends and grocers Charles and Joseph Sevez were interested in buying. They and their descendants guided the company through the 20th and early 21st centuries with deft advertising, innovative products, and distribution deals that got the brand into new markets around the world. Now, former company president Bernard Sevez’s son-in-law, Pierre Olivier Rousseaux, serves as the Dolin president and CEO. Including in-laws, the company has been owned by only two families since its inception.

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