6 Things You Should Know About Carpano Antica Formula, Italy’s Historic Sweet Vermouth

If you like stirred and boozy classics like Negronis and Manhattans, chances are you’ve had Carpano Antica Formula. The Italian-born beverage is widely considered the world’s first-ever sweet vermouth — and now it’s a fixture at bars all around the world.

First invented in 1786 in Turin by Antonio Benedetto Carpano, the sweet vermouth is known for its rich notes of dried fruit, a hint of bitterness, and striking vanilla flavor. It can be enjoyed on its own, but the aromatized wine is most often used to round out a spirit-forward cocktail and add some subtle sweetness to the flavor profile. While there are many sweet vermouths on the market, only Carpano Antica Formula can say it has been behind the bar for nearly 240 years.

Before you sip your next Adonis or Boulevardier, here are six things you need to know about Carpano Antica Formula.

Carpano Antica Formula is the OG of all sweet vermouth.

Antonio Benedetto Carpano, the founder of Carpano Antica Formula, is credited with making the first-ever bottle of vermouth back in 1786. Carpano was a trained herbalist who thought Muscat wine would be a little more palatable if it was fortified to be boozier and enhanced with bitters and herbal flavors. Turns out, he was right. His creation became the world’s first-ever vermouth (or at least the first commercially available bottle). Dry vermouth wouldn’t come until decades later when it was created by Joseph Noilly in 1813 in France, and other popular brands of sweet vermouth like Dolin and Cocchi Americano didn’t hit the market until the 1800s.

It was an instant hit.

Carpano owned a wine shop located across the street from the Royal Palace of Turin. So when he launched his product, he took a chance sending a crate of vermouth over to King Vittorio Amedeo III. (Essentially making what could be the first-ever Boomerang.) The king may not have sent Carpano back his own cocktail creation, but he did take an immediate liking to it and adopted it as an official drink of the royal household.

Carpano keeps its full formula a secret.

Like most vermouth and amaro producers, Carpano’s full formula is a trade secret. However, the brand has shared some details about the ingredients that make the product stand out. The name vermouth comes from the German word for wormwood, a popular bittering agent, and Carpano Antica Formula uses wormwood that comes exclusively from the Alps of Piedmont and the Aosta Valley. The bottle’s signature vanilla flavor comes courtesy of beans sourced from Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, and Tahiti. The sweet vermouth also contains saffron sourced from plateau areas in Iran.

The recipe and production methods haven’t changed in centuries.

Carpano Antica Formula first graduated from small-scale production to be crafted in a factory in 1898. Since then, the company has changed hands a few times and was acquired by the Milan-based spirits company Fratelli Branca Distillerie in 2001. But owners over the years have remained loyal to the formula, so the production method and ingredients remain largely the same.

It can appear in a cocktail or stand on its own.

In the early days of sweet vermouth, it was consumed either neat or on the rocks as one of Italy’s iconic aperitifs. Now the drink is still enjoyed on its own, but it’s more often used as a tool in cocktails like Negronis, Manhattans, and riffs on the two classic cocktails. With a richer flavor profile than many other sweet vermouths, Carpano Antica Formula is often a go-to for bartenders looking to add body and flavor to their drinks.

The original bottle reigns supreme, but the brand has expanded.

Carpano Antica Formula translates to “ancient formula.” So as the name suggests, it’s a storied, gold standard in sweet vermouth. The product is one of the most popular sweet vermouths on the market and is still the brand’s centerpiece, but Carpano products have expanded — especially in recent years. After the Carpano Antica Formula, the company launched the slightly more bitter Punt e Mes vermouth in 1870. Following those two flagship products, it wasn’t until the 2000s that the brand decided to add more bottles to its lineup. Fans of the Italian company can now also try Carpano Botanic Bitter, released in 2020, as well as bianco, dry, and rosso vermouths.

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