This is a question with different answers, as these are all not exactly the same thing. To get the first right out of the way, since it’s been covered in this column before, vermouth absolutely needs to be refrigerated after it’s opened. Because it’s made from wine, it spoils like wine, and has about two weeks after it has been opened to be stored in the fridge and continue to maintain peak freshness. This is not a bottle for the bar cart, unless you want to drink a Negroni, Martini, or Manhattan that tastes a bit off, thanks to the old vermouth.
How Long Does Vermouth Last?
Vermouth can hold its own for about a month once opened, but make sure to store it in the fridge within two weeks of your first pour.
Amaro, an Italian herbal liqueur including Campari and Aperol (technically Campari and Aperol are amari), is made from spirits that are infused with herbs and fruit. These can be stored the same way you would store all other spirits — on the bar or in the liquor cabinet. The difference between amaro and other types of spirits like bourbon or whiskey is that, thanks to the herbs and fruits that have been infused in the former, the liquid can age and evolve in the bottle. In fact, older bottles have become quite the find for amaro hunters.
Where things get a bit confusing is when your amaro isn’t made from spirit, but from wine. This is a rarity, and when this is the case, the amaro usually lists that it’s wine-based as opposed to spirit-based. If you do happen to have a bottle of this kind of amaro, it needs to go in the fridge after opening, just like vermouth, and it will last just as long, about two weeks.
