Asterley Bros vs Sacred Vermouth: which English vermouth is right for your bar?
English vermouth has come a long way since the days when a bartender's only option was a dusty Italian bottle opened once a fortnight and left to oxidise in the fridge. Two British producers are now making some of the most cited bottles in UK drinks circles: Asterley Bros SCHOFIELD'S and Sacred English Dry Vermouth.
We have watched both bottles appear on back bars across London and, eventually, on our own shelf. They share a category, a postcode of origin (both London-founded), and an ambition to give vermouth a proper seat at the bar. But they take genuinely different paths, in botanicals, in format, and in the serve they invite you into.
This is a straight comparison. We look at what each bottle actually contains, where each one wins, and which one belongs in your hand when you reach for the gin next.
Two approaches to English vermouth
Sacred Spirits launched its vermouth range from Highgate, North London, working with Alessandro Palazzi of Dukes Bar, home to what is arguably the most famous Dry Martini in the world. The collaboration brought serious cocktail credibility to the Sacred bottle from the start. Their English Dry Vermouth carries the World Drinks Awards 2019 title of World's Best Extra-Dry Vermouth, a detail the judges backed with specific tasting notes: "Beautiful nose, rich, dry wormwood, slightly peppery. Slight sweetness underneath, palate is crisp."
Asterley Bros released SCHOFIELD'S as a collaboration with the SCHOFIELD Brothers, a separate creative partnership that gave the bottle a distinct identity of its own. Where Sacred entered through the Martini bar, SCHOFIELD'S arrived as an English dry vermouth built for a broader serve range: Martini, spritz, long refreshing serves. The botanical list is unusually long, and the profile leans aromatic and floral rather than bitterly precise.
Both are English. Both are correct answers to a category that once required an Italian passport to play in. The differences are in the detail.
Botanical and method breakdown
Sacred English Dry Vermouth is built on a base of English wine from Three Choirs vineyard in Gloucestershire. The botanical run includes wormwood, thyme, cloves, and citrus, a tighter, more classically Mediterranean set that the Jacopo Mazzeo review describes as delivering "lots of citrus and stone fruit (apricot and peach) on the nose, while the palate is mostly led by flavours of citrus and winter spices." The ABV sits at 21.8%, giving the bottle some structural weight in a stirred cocktail. The format is 50cl.
SCHOFIELD'S uses a blend of English white wines as its base and runs 28 named botanicals in the recipe. The list includes rose, camomile, jasmine, gentian, cardamom, lime leaves, rosemary, and elderflower alongside more expected bittering agents like wormwood, cinchona, and milk thistle. The profile is aromatic, floral, and deliberately complex. The bottle format is 500ml and the ABV is 16%, noticeably lighter than Sacred's.
The contrast in botanical philosophy is real. Sacred concentrated its development around a tight set of premium ingredients with a Martini-specific application in mind. Asterley ran wider and leant into the floral English character that the SCHOFIELD collaboration brought to the brief. Neither approach is superior. They are answering slightly different questions about what English vermouth can taste like.
Price and format comparison
The two bottles sit at different price points and different formats, which matters when you are deciding what to put on your back bar or what to keep at home.
| Asterley Bros SCHOFIELD'S | Sacred English Dry Vermouth | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £26.95 | £20.95 |
| Format | 500ml | 50cl |
| ABV | 16% | 21.8% |
| Base | English white wine blend | English wine from Three Choirs, Gloucestershire |
| Botanical count | 28 named botanicals | Wormwood, thyme, cloves, citrus (reported) |
| Awards | Not publicly disclosed | World's Best Extra-Dry Vermouth, World Drinks Awards 2019 |
| Key differentiation | Floral, aromatic, wide botanical range | Cocktail-native, Palazzi collaboration, high ABV |
| Format strength | More millilitres per bottle; better for spritz and shared-pour formats | Concentrated for stirred cocktails; smaller format suits episodic opening |
On price per millilitre, Sacred works out slightly cheaper at £0.041/ml compared to £0.054/ml for SCHOFIELD'S. Sacred also wins on ABV. The higher alcohol content matters in stirred cocktails where dilution is controlled and you want the vermouth to hold its own against a full-proof gin. SCHOFIELD'S wins on volume and format flexibility. A 500ml bottle opened for a spritz session stretches further than a 50cl, and the lighter ABV makes it more forgiving when stretched with soda.
Where Sacred English Dry Vermouth wins
Sacred has an argument to make on heritage and cocktail credibility that we have not yet claimed in quite the same way. The Alessandro Palazzi collaboration puts the Sacred bottle in the orbit of Dukes Bar, a venue that has been the subject of more cocktail journalism than almost any bar in the world. The World Drinks Awards 2019 win is a verifiable, named award with specific judge commentary attached, which makes it a useful anchor in a category where awards are thin.
For a bartender building a back bar with a Martini-specific intent, Sacred's higher ABV and tighter botanical structure make a defensible case. The smaller 50cl format also means less waste if the bottle is only opened for service in that venue. The price, at £20.95 per 50cl, is also marginally lower than SCHOFIELD'S on a per-ml basis.
The Jacopo Mazzeo review notes that the Sacred range is "elegant, sophisticated, and particularly apt to concoct your wintery libations," and specifically recommends the Spiced expression for Negroni and Manhattan applications. That kind of third-party editorial endorsement from a recognised drinks writer is meaningful in a category where consumer information is thin.
Where Asterley Bros SCHOFIELD'S wins
SCHOFIELD'S has the longer botanical list and the broader serve range. 28 named ingredients (rose, camomile, jasmine, gentian, cardamom, lime leaf) signal a different ambition from a straightforward cocktail vermouth. The floral, aromatic profile makes SCHOFIELD'S genuinely interesting in a spritz or a long serve where you want botanical complexity to carry the drink rather than just support the gin.
The format advantage is real for home users and smaller venues. 500ml means you can open the bottle, use what you need for a Martini or two, and leave it in the fridge for longer before it degrades. The lighter ABV (16%) also makes it more versatile for sparkling water long drinks and spritz serves where you want to taste the vermouth without it fighting the soda.
The SCHOFIELD Brothers collaboration also gives the bottle a narrative anchor, a creative partnership that matters to drinks people who follow the brand. Asterley's transparency ethos, the brand makes a point of publishing what is in its bottles, is also a differentiator in a category where most producers guard their recipes. You can read the full botanical list for SCHOFIELD'S on Asterley Bros' product page.
SCHOFIELD'S is available at the same premium retail stockists as the rest of the Asterley range, including Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols, Hedonism Wines, and Master of Malt, which positions it alongside other high-end British craft spirits in a way that helps with gifting and retail placement.
A Negroni for the comparison
Both bottles work in a Negroni, though the serves they reward are different. A Negroni made with Sacred English Dry Vermouth will be more bitter, more alcoholic, and more austere. The high ABV and wormwood lead throughout. A Negroni built on SCHOFIELD'S will be softer, more floral, and have more botanical complexity competing with the bitterness of the Campari.
For a side-by-side comparison session, try:
50ml London Dry Gin 25ml Sacred English Dry Vermouth or Asterley Bros SCHOFIELD'S 25ml Campari
Stir over large ice. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Express orange peel.
Make both. Note which one you reach for the next evening. That answer is the one that belongs on your bar.
FAQ
Is Sacred Vermouth better than Asterley Bros? Neither is objectively better. Sacred has the stronger cocktail-venue pedigree and a verifiable World Drinks Award. Asterley has a broader botanical range, a larger format, and more versatility across serve styles. The right answer depends on how you plan to use the bottle.
What's the difference between SCHOFIELD'S and Sacred English Dry Vermouth? The most practical difference is ABV (21.8% Sacred versus 16% SCHOFIELD'S) and botanical profile. Sacred is tighter, more classically bitter, and Martini-native. SCHOFIELD'S is wider, more aromatic, and suited to Martini, spritz, and longer serves.
Which one should I use for a Negroni? Both work. Sacred gives you a more bitter, higher-alcohol Negroni. SCHOFIELD'S gives you a more aromatic one with a softer edge. Try both and decide which you prefer.
Where can I buy each? Sacred English Dry Vermouth is available direct from sacredgin.com and from retailers including Master of Malt and The Whisky Exchange. Asterley Bros SCHOFIELD'S is available from asterleybros.com and from Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols, Hedonism Wines, and Master of Malt.
How should I store English vermouth? Refrigerate after opening. Both bottles contain wine bases and will oxidise faster than spirits. A 50cl bottle of Sacred, once opened, should be used within two to three weeks refrigerated. SCHOFIELD'S in 500ml format should be used within three to four weeks. Vermouth does not improve with age once open. Use it or lose it.
Does English vermouth actually taste different from Italian vermouth? In general, English vermouth producers have more freedom to experiment with botanicals outside the Italian aperitivo tradition. Sacred leans into the classic bittering herbs with a high-ABV, Martini-specific intent. Asterley's approach, particularly in SCHOFIELD'S, leans on floral and aromatic botanicals (rose, camomile, jasmine) that are less common in Italian vermouth. The result is a genuinely different flavour profile rather than a mere copy.
Ready to try an English vermouth that is made in South London, listed at some of the UK's best bars, and designed to work in everything from a Martini to a spritz?