Lacuesta Sweet Red Vermouth
Lacuesta Sweet Red Vermouth is the sweet red of Haro's vermouth house — 15% ABV, 750mL, a white wine aromatised with the family's secret Conzia botanical extract and bottled properly sweet at 162.2 g/l of sugar, from Bodegas Martinez Lacuesta in La Rioja, vermouth makers since 1937. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 15%
- Size: 750mL
- Style: Sweet red vermouth (rojo dulce)
- Sweetness: 162.2 g/l sugar (producer tech sheet)
- Method: Conzia — the family's secret botanical extract, cold-macerated and oak-aged, blended into white wine
- Origin: Haro, La Rioja, Spain (Bodegas Martinez Lacuesta, founded 1895; vermouth since 1937)
Rioja's Vermouth, Made the Haro Way
Martinez Lacuesta has made wine in Haro since 1895, and in 1937 the family pioneered vermouth in La Rioja — the house still claims Lacuesta is the only vermouth that originates in Haro. The heart of it is the Conzia, the cellar's guarded name for its botanical extract: herbs cold-macerated and aged in American oak, then blended with wine, sugar and a touch of caramel into this sweet red. Against the house's own Extra Dry at 28.8 g/l, the Rojo Dulce's 162.2 g/l tells you exactly where it sits — this is the vermouth for Negronis and Manhattans, not for sipping dry. Find its siblings in our liqueurs collection, or browse the house on the Lacuesta vendor page.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Red fruit and warm spice over wormwood bitterness (producer register). Palate: Cherries and plums with cacao and cinnamon, sweet up front and properly bitter underneath. Finish: Sweet spice giving way to the Conzia's herbal bite.
How to Enjoy
The cocktail vermouth of the house: a Manhattan at 2:1 with rye, a Negroni where its sweetness stands up to Campari, or the Spanish serve — over ice with an orange slice and an olive, vermouth hour style.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Conzia? The Lacuesta family's name for its secret botanical extract — herbs cold-macerated and aged in American oak, blended into wine to aromatise every Lacuesta vermouth.
How sweet is Lacuesta Sweet Red? Properly sweet — 162.2 g/l of sugar on the producer's tech sheet, against 28.8 g/l for the house's Extra Dry. It is built for cocktails that need a sweet vermouth, not a dry aperitif.
Where is Lacuesta made? In Haro, La Rioja, by Bodegas Martinez Lacuesta — a family bodega founded in 1895 that has made vermouth since 1937.
Rioja's sweet red — order Lacuesta Sweet Red Vermouth online from Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.