The Bar Journal

MARTINI® Gran Lusso is inspired by the original Vermouth Lusso, a classic vermouth originally sold in an elegantly shaped long-necked bottle, discovered in the brands archives dating back to 1871. As MARTINI® celebrates its landmark 150 anniversary year, the limited edition single-batch Gran Lusso vermouth has been more than eight years in the making and is limited to 150,000 bottles worldwide. This luxurious new vermouth has been expertly handcrafted and will allow bartenders to breathe new life into some of the finest classic cocktails.

To create the deep and luxurious crimson colour of Gran Lusso, the MARTINI® Master Blender looked no further than Piedmont’s famous Barbera grape variety. The winemaker selected the best growers near the MARTINI® winery in Santo Stefano Belbo to provide the grape known for its velvet texture and intense colour.
For the dry, white wine base of Gran Lusso, the winemaker travelled to neighbouring Emilia- Romagna for the first pressing or ‘Vino Fiore’ of the Trebbiano grapes for a subtle and delicate, aromatic character.
For Gran Lusso, the MARTINI® artisans have created groundbreaking new methods of extracting the essential character of the botanicals. First, they looked to the must (unfermented grape juice) of Moscato di Canelli from the Asti region which is also used in MARTINI® Asti. A natural spirit was added and then aged in barrels for a year to give a honeyed, rich and perfumed character. Once aged, a carefully selected collection of botanicals are added to create an extract. These include South African aloe, great yellow gentian roots hand-picked in the volcanic alpine region of the Auvergne in France and red cinchona tree bark from Ecuador. Macerated together, these botanicals deliver a sublime extract, which brings the ‘sweet-bitter’ taste to the final blend.

Every unique formula requires a secret ingredient and the second extract used in Gran Lusso is no exception. It originates from a recipe laid down in the MARTINI® archives and is known as ‘extract 94.’ In anticipation of a new MARTINI® expression, the extract was recreated eight years ago, and was left to mature – a first in the history of MARTINI. This unique single batch will be used entirely for the limited production of Gran Lusso. With the extracts in short supply, the composition had to be right first time and with Gran Lusso the artisans hit the target.

Gran Lusso strikes a perfect balance between the most luxurious, rich taste of sweet vermouth and the rich complex flavours derived from the matured, botanical extract. The aromatically herbal and cleansing bitter notes fill the mouth with a distinct complexity. The honey softness of the aged Moscato provides a sweet taste. With hints of lavender and rose, the softness of the Barbera grape provides a unique smoothness to the drink.

SALUTE!