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Interrobang:  a punctuation mark (‽) specially designed for use at the end of an exclamatory question.

Vermouth: a wine aromatized with wormwood and other botanicals, fortified with brandy, and traditionally served as an aperitif to stimulate the appetite or as an ingredient in cocktails.

Interrobang is a mark above the rest. Devoted to the design and production of premium, artisanal Sweet and White vermouths, we handcraft old-world recipes to provide you with a stunning aperitif and cocktail experience. Made with local Pacific Northwest wine grapes and fortified with locally produced brandy, our carefully selected botanicals and production processes add the aromatics and flavors that few vermouths can obtain.

Sweet Vermouth No. 47

Based on a centuries-old German recipe, this sweet vermouth includes Wormwood, Gentian and 10 other organic or sustainable botanicals. It took us 47 times through the recipe to perfect the production. 17.5% ABV

White Vermouth No. 73

Based on a traditional Southern French recipe, this white semi-dry vermouth includes Cinchona, Cinnamon and 5 other organic or sustainable botanicals. It took us 73 times through the recipe to perfect the production. 17.5% ABV

Interrobang Product Information Sheet

Our vermouths are vegan, GF and crafted with sustainable and organic botanicals (except for the 10% that we cannot source organically)

 

RECIPES

INTERROBANG SWEET VERMOUTH
APERTIFS

Jade’s Ginger Bang
2 parts Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47
2-3 parts Bundaberg or Gosling Ginger Beer
Serve on the rocks garnished with a lime wheel.

Sweet & Tonic
2 parts Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47
3 parts tonic water
Serve on the rocks garnished with a twist of lime.

COCKTAILS

Frank’s Wild Years
1 part Dark Rum
1 part Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47
¼ part lemon juice
Simple Syrup to taste
Shake ingredients on ice, strain into a tumbler with crushed ice, top with a splash of soda & serve with a lemon slice.

The Vialiere
1 part Bourbon
1 part Cynar
1 part Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47
Stir long & well with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a cocktail glass.Garnish with orange slice.

Interrobang Manhattan
2 parts Rye Whiskey
1 part Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Shake ingredients on ice, strain into a Martini glass, garish with a twist of lemon.

Negroni Cooler
1 part Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47
1 part Campari
1 part dry gin
3 parts limeade
Combine all ingredients in a Sodastream or equivalent, carbonate and serve in a highball glass over crushed ice with a lemon wheel.

The Roaring ’20s Manhattan
2 parts Rye Whiskey
1 part Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash maraschino (from marasca cherries) cherry juice
Stir ingredients with ice, strain into a chilled Champagne shell, garish with a (candied marasca) maraschino cherry.

INTERROBANG WHITE VERMOUTH
APERTIFS

SIP NW Ruby Mint Cobbler
2 oz Interrobang White Vermouth No. 73
1/2 oz amontillado sherry
3/4 oz wildflower honey syrup*
2 dashes grapefruit bitters
4 oz Q Grapefruit Soda
12 mint leaves
1/8 wedge of ruby red grapefruit
Muddle the mint & honey syrup in a shaker glass. Squeeze & add the grapefruit wedge, then the vermouth, sherry, bitter & ice. Shake well & strain into a rocks glass, fill with ice & top with the grapefruit soda. Garnish with mint sprigs.
* Combine 1/2 cup wildflower honey with 1/4 water, bring to a simmer (stirring), let cool & refrigerate until ready to use. Makes 6 oz.

Cava Spritz
1 part Interrobang White Vermouth No. 73
2-3 parts Cava Brut
Pour the vermouth into a champagne flute & float with Cava Brut.

COCKTAILS

Cameo
1 part Interrobang White Vermouth No. 73
1 part Genepy des Alpes
1 part dry gin
1 dash of orange bitters
Stir all ingredients on ice, strain into a martini glass & garnish with a twist of lemon.

Corpse Reviver #2
1 part Interrobang White Vermouth No. 73
1 part Cointreau
1 part dry gin
1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 dash Pernod (or absinthe)
Shake all ingredients on ice, strain into a chilled champagne shell & garnish with a lemon peel.

Despoina
2 parts aged brandy
1.5 parts Interrobang White Vermouth No. 73
1 part sloe gin
1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 part simple syrup
Stir all ingredients on ice, strain into a rocks glass with a large cube of ice & garnish with a twist of lemon.

Sunset’s Upside-down Martini
2 parts Interrobang White Vermouth No. 73
1 London dry gin
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir all ingredients on ice, strain into a chilled martini glass & garnish with a twist of lemon.

 

The Kina Starka: 3/4 oz Bull Run Medoyeff Starka barrel-aged vodka, 3/4 oz Interrobang No. 73 white vermouth & 1 1/4 oz Tonic water. Serve on the rocks with an orange wedge. “Kina in the vermouth, kina in the tonic & Starka barrel-aged vodka – awesomely refreshing!” – Jeanne B.
The Stone Barn: equal parts Aria Gin, Cynar, and Interrobang White Vermouth with a splash of Nocino and a lemon twist. Serve on the rocks. “Mighty strong & tasty…”
The Running Y Boulevardier: equal parts Bulliet95 Rye, Campari, and Interrobang Sweet Vermouth. Stir until chilled, strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice, garnish with an orange peel.
“I love Campari, but not gin. So my ‘Tony’s Negroni’ is 2 parts vodka, 1 part Campari, 1 part Interrobang Sweet Vermouth, and a wedge of blood orange. It has to be blood orange – delicious after soaking in the drink. Made in a pitcher, limit two.” – Tony B.

“So we had your described vodka martini with Tito’s last night.  Really an elegant cocktail with all the spices of the white vermouth coming through.   #73 is really more than a vermouth and does add different dimensions to the drink.  Makes the vodka go down a little too well!” – Alexis H.

“A favorite at The Water Oasis – the White Ginger Spritz – made with equal parts Interrobang white vermouth, ginger beer,  sparkling water, and a fresh lime wheel on crushed ice. Cheers!” – Rhiannon P.

“Sweet Vermouth No. 47 – I’d suggest making a Hanky Panky, composed of gin, Interrobang sweet vermouth and Fernet Branca. As an alternative try a straight-up Rye Whiskey Manhattan” – Ansel V.

“For a GF version of Sunset Magazine’s Interrobang Upside-down Martini, we recommend Townshend’s Gin – distilled from tea and botanicals. Outstanding!” – Jeanne B.

“My N’awlins’ Manhattan is 2 parts Bulleit Rye with 1 part Interrobang Sweet Vermouth, 1-2 dashes of Peychaud bitters and a scant mixing spoon of cherry juice, with the cherry, of course” – Liam L.

ABOUT | NEWS | EVENTS

ABOUT/CONTACT US

Ask for Interrobang wherever you buy liquor or fine wine and please drop us a line at sales@whatisinterrobang.com for any sales inquiries, questions, and if you have a recipe that you want to share.  From cocktails and aperitifs, to food pairings with our vermouth – or food recipes that include them – we are building our recipe section. Post them on Facebook and Twitter – share your ideas with our friends and yours.

We are dedicated to merging artisan old world wine recipes with modern techniques that allow us to make even better wine-based products.  Our team includes experienced libationists, winemakers, and oenologists who focus on every detail to perfect our products.

Would you expect anything else‽

 

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PRODUCTION NOTES

In the craft world, you learn to hack solutions to basic needs, or find someone who can.  Fortunately, we make our vermouth at August Cellars.  The winery-fixit-meister of the cellars rigged up the bottling line to deal with our bar top needs.  Bar tops are not like corks, so we had to pull the bottles off the line when filled, position the bar top, seal the bar top into the bottle, then put the bottle back on the bottling line to be labeled. Click here to see a video of Tom’s brilliant hack!

Making handcrafted vermouth consistently from batch to batch starts with perfect recipes and precise measurements. Combining the botanicals, then soaking them for the prescribed amount of time.

interrobang-botanicals-steeping

Carefully blending the wine and brandy.

interrobang-vermouth-blendingThen finishing up the bottling with hand-labeling the neckers.

interrobang-bottling-2021

REVIEWS & NEWS

“A VOYAGE INTO VERMOUTH”
Oregon Wine Press, June 2024

Greg Norton wrote a great article about the history, production, and versatility of vermouth in which Interrobang was featured. Read the full article here.

“ANNOUNCING THE 2021 BEST OF THE NORTHWEST!”
SIP Northwest Magazine, October 2021

We are excited to announce that Interrobang White Vermouth No. 73 received Double Gold and No. 47 garnered Gold in the Vermouth category tenth annual Best of the Northwest awards competition! Click here to see all of the results for Best of the Northwest. The magazine hits the stand on January 17th, 2022.

“VERMOUTH 101: NORTHWEST PRODUCERS SERVE VERMOUTH WITH A TWIST”
SIP Northwest Magazine, April 2021

So what, exactly, is vermouth? And what can you do with it? SIP Northwest Magazine’s Steve Hansen provides an interesting primer and great review of vermouths crafted in the Pacific Northwest, including Interrobang’s White No. 73. Read the full article here.

WHITE VERMOUTH NO. 73 TAKES THE SILVER MEDAL!
Sip Northwest Magazine’s 8th Annual Best of the Northwest, November 2019

We are excited to announce that Interrobang White Vermouth No. 73 tied for the Silver Medal in the Specialty Spirits Category in Sip Northwest Magazine’s 8th Annual Best of the Northwest! Plus Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47 garnered the Judges’ Pick award as well. Stayed tuned for the November issue – it hits the newsstands on November 6, 2019.

“EASY DRINKING LOW PROOF COCKTAILS”
SIP Northwest Magazine, July 2019

Angela Prosper and team at SIP Northwest Magazine created the Ruby Mint Cobbler with Interrobang No. 73 White Vermouth. The recipe is in the Recipe Section of the website.

“You may have been hearing the buzz around low-proof and low-ABV cocktails recently and there is a good reason why. The aperitif-style drink is the perfect choice for those who want o partake over a long night out without the risk of overindulgence, or for those looking to just slightly take the edge off. Thanks to the creative efforts of bartenders across the country, these drinks can be just as heavenly as their boozier companions…” Read the full review here

“SHAKEN: THE COCKTAIL CHALLENGE”
September 2017

Whoa!  Check out Episode 2 of Shaken: the Cocktail Challenge: 2 bartenders, 10 minutes, 3 judges, 1 winner – with Interrobang as one of the 2 featured ingredients along with Snozzberry Soda (and not the Willy Wonka version)!  The mixologists, Andrew and Edgar, concoct 2 very different cocktails, both enjoyed by the tasting panel of judges: Karlie Blair, Megan Amram, and Scott Lowell.

Hosted by Danna Friedberg, the series was created by Executive Producers: Annie McGrath, Sarah Allyn Bauer, and Karlie Blair. Thanks to Director Josh Giuliano & Director of Photography Jonathan Jones, the mixologists move fast, have fun and make awesome cocktails!

“11 HOTTEST COCKTAILS TO DRINK IN BARS NOW”
Liquor.com, September 2017

Thanks to renowned food and drink critic Virginia Miller for sharing Ruddick-Wood’s signature cocktail “That One Afternoon Drink” featuring Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47.

“In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the town of Newberg is home to Ruddick/Wood, a hip, small town tavern pursuing the typical local, seasonal, new-American fare long common in city restaurants. While diners fill up on house pastrami or duck oat hush puppies, co-owner Kyle Latimer turns out drinks like That One Afternoon Drink…” Read the full review here

“REINVENTING THE COCKTAIL WITH INTERROBANG VERMOUTH”
SIP Northwest Magazine, April 2017 Issue
A great article by Virginia Clark featuring an Interrobang original signature cocktail: Frank’s Wild Years. “As the craft cocktail movement has gained pace over the last decade, all the classic ingredients have come up for reinvention. From the basic spirits — whiskey and gin — to the stuff that makes them sing — bitters, mixers and liqueurs — the exploding craft industry hasn’t been content to stick to the classics.”
Read the full article here


“REVIEW: INTERROBANG VERMOUTH”
Drinkhacker, May, 2017
An interrobang is a punctuation mark that is both an exclamation point and a question mark. It’s also the name of a new, artisanal vermouth from a small craft producer in Newberg, Oregon (in the heart of Oregon wine country). The company offers two varieties covering both of the classics — one white, one red. We tasted them both. Thoughts follow.  Read the full article here

“THE NEW APERITIF”
Sunset Magazine, February, 2017 Issue
We are thrilled that Sunset Magazine’s Sara Schneider and team created the Upside-down Martini with our White Vermouth #73. The recipe is: 2 oz of Interrobang White Vermouth #73, 1 oz of a London dry gin like Tanqueray, and a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters in a mixing glass with ice.  Unlike 007 don’t shake.  Stir for 20 seconds, strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.  Find a copy for the other recipes as well: The West Coast Manhattan and the Wine Country Americano.

“THE U.S. LAUNCH OF THE VERMOUTH COLLECTIVE “
Tales of the Cocktail, November 9, 2016
Interrobang, Imbue Cellars, Ransom Spirits, and Hammer & Tongs hosted a special vermouth tasting in Portland, Oregon launching the U.S. chapter of The Vermouth Collective. TVC was launched in Australia on Monday, November 7th and in the U.K. on Friday, November 11th. Just recently formed, TVC timed the launch to coincide with Tales of the Cocktails-Vermouth Week. Please check out our Facebook Page and Twitter feed for continuing updates.

“THE STORY OF AMERICAN CRAFT VERMOUTH”interrobang-white-vermouth-73-strawberry-spritz
Tales of the Cocktail, November 9, 2016
When you think of vermouth, a few names come to mind immediately: Noilly-Prat, Dolin, Cinzano, Martini & Rossi and the list goes on. All of these brands have been around for decades, serving up time-tested additions to martinis and Manhattans. Up until recently, you would be just as likely to see a bottle of vermouth behind a bar as you would see it gathering dust in your father’s liquor cabinet. Here in the US, the vermouth scene has been slowly changing, though not for long at all…
Read the full article here

“TRENDING: HAND-CRAFTED VERMOUTH”
Northwest Travel Magazine, May 5, 2016
“Vermouth may play a minor role in your beverage repertoire, if it plays a part at all. Most picture a dusty bottle opened only for select cocktails. Yet, in the creative hands of Northwest artisans, the dust will never have time to settle. As cocktail ingredients, these hand-crafted vermouths meet the country’s growing demand for quality. Beyond the role of minor supporting actor, vermouth is taking its place as the opening act, served as an aperitif to set the tone for a refined dining experience…”
Read the full article here

“VERMOUTH ON THE RISE”
Saveur, October 7, 2014
“There’s a whole new crop of the fortified wine debuting in the U.S.–and bartenders are taking notice. A few years back, vermouth—an aromatized, fortified wine—held little sway over American drinkers. I probably wouldn’t have given much thought to the stuff if it hadn’t been for a backpacking trip through Europe some 20 years ago…
So it’s a pleasant change for me that vermouth’s fortunes have shifted. Riding the wave of the cocktail revolution, artisanal American vermouths have joined European brands on shelves, and they’re making a splash with bartenders looking for new flavors.”
Read the full article here

“THE BEST AMERICAN VERMOUTHS”
Serious Eats, May 14, 2014
“Named for the punctuation mark that indicates the end of an exclamatory rhetorical question, Interrobang currently produces one sweet-style vermouth in Oregon’s Willamette Valley…
Flavor-wise, Interrobang’s balanced profile plays sweet blackberry and rosemary with dark chocolate and coffee notes against woody tannins reminiscent of Italy’s artichoke-based Cynar. On ice, the menthol from the eucalyptus and ripe black cherry flavors emerge, subduing the lingering dryness just a bit; the body and character are robust enough to stand up to aged spirits in cocktails like a Manhattan.”
Read the full article here

“NEW CROP OF OREGON-MADE VERMOUTHS PUSHES THE ENVELOPE”
The Oregonian, January 30, 2014
“Somewhere between the current crazes for artisanal distilling and hyper-local winemaking, a delicious middle path has emerged: the craft vermouth movement. During the past three years or so, Willamette Valley producers have rolled out at least nine new vermouths where there once were none…
This cola-colored beverage is sweet on the palate, with aromatics of stone fruit, according to Vickery, who reported getting “potpourri” notes of apricot, peach, cherry and spice from his glass.”
Read the full article here

INCREDIBLE DRINK RECIPES

Loralee’s Smokey Margarita

We challenged one of our favorite mixologists to craft a Margarita-style cocktail using one of our vermouths. Here’s Loralee’s creation:

  • 2oz grapefruit juice
  • 1.5oz Interrobang Vermouth
  • 1/2oz Tequila
  • 1tsp Grapefruit Brulee shrub
  • Squeeze of lime

Torch brown sugar over a grapefruit slice

Loralee's brown sugar-glaze grapefruit

 

Rim the glass with salt that was shaken with grapefruit juice and a squeeze of lime. That’s it!

Loralee's Smokey Margarita Drink Shot

Check out Loralee’s Signature Cocktails on Instagram

DRINK RECIPE VIDEOS
Shaken: the Cocktail Challenge – Episode 2 Featuring Interrobang

Watch mixologists Andrew and Edgar face off with 10 minutes to create a signature cocktail with 2 required ingredients: Interrobang Sweet No. 47 and/or White No. 73, and Batch Craft’s Snozzberry Soda – plus whatever else is in the bar (absinthe, bitters, fruit…). Interrobang vermouth wins on both counts!

The Multnomah Whisk(e)y Library Peter Iredale w/ Bull Run Bourbon

Try this incredible cocktail from Whiskey Library mixologist Brett Adams featuring Bull Run Bourbon, Clear Creek’s Pear Brandy, and New Deal Distillery’s Cascadia D’Amore!

https://www.facebook.com/Bullrundistillingcompany/videos/1352337434827819/

The Crafted Life Manhattan

https://youtu.be/6pkv0fBDba4

The Crafted Life Boulevardier

https://youtu.be/4yXzNPPxJSw

WINE-BASED RECIPES
The Bellobang
A new wine-based drink from Newberg’s Bells Up Winery and Interrobang, Mixed with two parts Bells Up Firebird Walla Walla AVA Syrah, one part Interrobang Sweet Vermouth No. 47 and an orange slice garnish. Recipe & article here
Bellobang Sangria
The Bellobang turned into the perfect summer refresher. Recipe & article here