Beer at noon or vermut de la casa before lunch! As you get used to Barcelona, you will notice that the locals will enjoy a glass of wine, vermouth or beer at any time of the day. You may be thinking, “in my country we do that as well!”  Well, I come from a cold country where drinking beer in the middle of the day is considered only a step away from deep alcoholism, so after living in Barcelona for more than a year, I came up with the idea of writing about the drinking traditions in this marvelous Mediterranean jewel.

For my friends vermouth is a foul drink, a drink from a different era, when people got drunk with a bottle of martini-coke and hugged the toilet unconsciously in the early morning hours. I had generally avoided it, maybe in a posh cocktail I’d tried a little, but on its own… no thank you.

However, in Barcelona vermouth slowly became one of my favourite appetizers. This is why I will dedicate this part of the blog series on drinking and tapas in Barcelona to the homemade Catalan vermouth.  I will start this blog by introducing the role of this sweet liquor in the drinking traditions of the locals in Barcelona. I will also tell you about a typical, suspicious-looking Catalan bar where you can get their delicious homemade vermouth. And *drumroll* if you read until the end of the text, you can even try cooking this delicious and easy recipe which I tasted on my arrival in Barcelona.  But first, let’s define the origins of vermouth.

Definition

For those of you with little knowledge of this drink, mostly associated with George Clooney starring in those famous Martini commercials, here is a short and concise definition from Wikipedia about what vermouth is.

Vermouth (pronounced ‘ver-məθ [UK] or /vərˈmuːθ/ [US]) is a fortified wine flavored with various dry ingredients. The word “vermouth” comes from the German word wermut for wormwood that has been used as an ingredient in the drink over its history. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France. Vermouth was consumed as a medicinal libation until the latter 19th century when it became an important ingredient in many of the first, classic cocktails, such as the martini.”  Source: Wikipedia English

Although of Italian origin, the vermouth in Spain is exclusively produced in Catalonia and the two most famous vermouth producers in Catalonia are Yzaguirre and Miró.

Anar fer el vermut or let’s grab a drink

Once upon a time in Catalonia, anar fer el vermut meant to have an appetizer-snack before lunch. This was a common practice during the warm spring and summer days, where people sat lazily on the sunny terraces of small bars and restaurants, sucking all the solar energy they could and cooling themselves with a tasty glass of vermouth accompanied by olives filled with anchovies or some other tapa. The vermouth o’clock was a common practice at home as well. Vermouth was also a great excuse to meet up with some old friends and socialise while waiting for lunch to be ready. Adults normally drank vermouth with a bit of soda and a slice of lemon, whereas children drank non-alcoholic drinks with a similar color to the vermouth. Vermouth was an important ritual on Sundays after Mass. The plates that went along with this drink were very simple and besides the essential green olives, people usually ate anchovies, chips, roasted almonds and mussels in spicy sauce.

Until recently, vermouth was considered as a drink for old people. Recently however, something happened to make it fashionable again. Maybe people just got tired of drinking beer and were looking for something to go somewhere that is different to your ordinary bar. Cala del Vermut is one of those bars, or should I say, holes in walls without doors, that look suspicious on the outside but are amazing on the inside. Here they serve you their own label, Catalan brewed, Spanish vermouth on tap. It comes in a tall straight glass with ice and a green olive. This is the perfect aperitif and at €2 it is an absolute bargain. You can also buy a bottle of their brand vermouth for something more than €5 and savour this delicious drink in the comfort of your home.

The bar is located on Magdalenes, 6 and it is open every day from 11 am to 4pm every evening from 7pm to 10.30 pm. Sundays the bar is closed. Their web-page is lacking so the best thing to do is to go and visit the bar. You won’t regret it!

Cala del Vermut
C/ Magdalenes, 6  (Barrio Gotico)
The bar is located near Placa Catalunya and is a perfect stop for after a tiring shopping session on the Portal del Angel shopping street.

Cooking with vermouth

Tuna with Vermouth Sauce

Ingredients:

4-6 skinless and boneless tuna fillets
4 onions
1 green pepper
a bit of jamón (finely chopped)
1 cup of red vermouth

Preparation:

Preheat the oven (180º approx. 10 minutes)
Chop the pepper and the onions into nice and round slices.
Before baking the tuna fillets, grill them for couple of minutes in a frying pan.
Put the tuna in the baking tray, sprinkle a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Add the pepper and the onions and cover the tuna and the vegetables with vermouth.
Put the fish in the oven and bake it for 5-10 minutes.

Bon profit!

 

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