Although vermouth has millenary roots, the Turin brothers Giovanni Giacomo and Carlo Stefano Cinzano, pioneers of modern vermouth, are responsible for the custom of drinking vermouth as we know it today. In 1757 they already became famous with the production of their first aromatic wines in their small store in Turin. A little later, in 1786, they produced their first vermouth, Cinzano Rosso, considered by experts as one of the first vermouths in modern history. The first Cinzano Rosso represented something innovative, sublime and elegant for the Turin of the time. With its spicy touches, its notes of dried fruits that provided a rounded flavor and soft hints of wood and licorice, Cinzano was considered a very refined and aristocratic vermouth. A true “Mr. Vermouth”.
Cinzano is not only one of Turin’s first authentic vermouths; it is a real box of memories.
The Turin brothers were also pioneers of modern marketing strategies. They designed a new avant-garde logo for their product with the characteristic red and blue colors, the former to represent the passion and pride in this drink and the latter to symbolize the nobility, tradition and depth of the Mediterranean Sea. Two centuries later, the same logo remains unchanged and unmodified. However, what makes these brothers true marketing geniuses is their Cinzano Soda advertising campaign in the early 20th century. It showed two people making a toast and pronouncing the words “Cin, cin, Cinzano!”, words that would go down in history and would end up being the origin of our current form of toasting.
Today, 268 years later, vermouth is still booming and having a vermouth is synonymous with socializing, sharing and enjoying. So we toast to the Turin brothers, because without them the expression “making vermouth” would not have had the meaning we all love.
Cin cin!
