‘Vermouth’ celebrates revival of the fortified wine

Adam Ford had a life-changing experience with his wife in Italy when he finally tried a glass of vermouth, a drink she had always loved. He decided to recreate that sublime night abroad by creating his own American vermouth — and fell even more in love with the fortified wine that had long fallen out of favor in the years since it had been a prime ingredient in many classic cocktails.

His Atsby Vermouth has helped to bring the wine back into vogue. Now, bartenders are featuring it front and center in their cocktail programs, and craft producers like Ford are making versions of vermouth worth drinking. In the midst of such a renaissance, it seemed like high time to Ford to chronicle vermouth’s rise and fall and rise again, so he’s recently published “Vermouth: The Revival of the Spirit that Created America’s Craft Cocktail Culture” (Countryman Press, $24.85).