After the Christmas bottles of 2023 and the family vermouth revelation that followed in early 2024, the project went a little quiet.

I still made vermouth from time to time, mostly for myself, but the idea of turning it into anything bigger had faded away. Vermouth Actually returned to being what it had always been – a personal hobby. My own secret medicine.

Then, in early 2025, everything changed again.

We were travelling through India. It was an incredible trip, driven mostly by wildlife and landscape in Goa and Ranthambore, but like any journey through India, the food played a massive role in the experience.

One evening in Jaipur we were served the most memorable dish of the whole trip: Laal Maas. A rich, slow-cooked Rajasthani curry, deeply spiced and intensely comforting.

There was one particular flavour in it that completely caught my attention. It was something I had never tasted before – smoky, slightly medicinal, savoury, and incredibly moreish.

Naturally I had to figure out what it was and a little investigation revealed the answer: Indian black cardamom.

I brought some home with me – I’d already wondered ‘what would happen if I tried it in the vermouth?’. Like many things that had shaped the vermouth project before, it began with simple curiosity.

At that point the recipe already contained green cardamom, a classic spice used in many vermouths and liqueurs. After some experimenting I ended up substituting about half of the green cardamom with black cardamom, and the effect was amazing.

Suddenly the drink developed a deeper, darker character. There was an aniseed-like warmth and a savoury depth that hadn’t been there before. Most importantly, it introduced something that had been missing – a subtle umami richness that made the drink feel rounder and more compelling.

It was the flavour that made you want another sip.

For the first time, the vermouth felt completely my own. It carried a small piece of that journey through India as well as many other adventures – the Indian black cardamom folded into the drink alongside everything that had come before it.

That was the moment I realised I might actually have something special.

Combined with the brilliant brand name (if I may say so myself – have I mentioned I run a marketing agency?!) – Vermouth Actually – it suddenly felt like a product that deserved to exist in the real world.

So I began doing something I often do when I want to push myself into finishing a project – I started telling people about it.

As someone with ADHD, I have discovered that if I tell enough people about an idea, I effectively back myself into a corner. Suddenly there are expectations, questions, and friendly pressure to actually follow through.

So I began quietly mentioning the vermouth to various people connected to the drinks scene in Brighton and Hove.

And then… I read about ‘bonded warehouses’ and ‘excise duty’! Hugely complex and more than enough to make me abandon the whole idea for the second time!

So the project was shelved!

But this time, not for long…