It was early evening in Barcelona—that wonderful time in Spain when work is over, but the sun is out, and dinner is still a few hours away. I lounged outside a buzzing bar called Morro Fi, drinking vermouth over ice, and nibbling olives, potato chips, and convervas, those tinned fish that are such a delicacy in Iberia.

Morro Fi is sleek and modern, with a minimalist interior and equally minimalist menu. “We only serve vermouth, beer, and snacks,” said owner Marcel Fernandez. “As a kid, I went out with my parents after church for a vermouth, before going to lunch with the family. So, I haven’t been very creative. It’s the same menu that a vermuteria served when I was a kid.”

The "hora del vermouth"—vermouth hour—is a sacred time of day in Barcelona. Originally, it meant sometime around noon or 1 pm, when you had a vermouth and a snack to tide you over until lunch. These days, the vermouth hour can be any time before a meal, though it usually means day drinking. “We don’t like to be open late at night,” Fernandez said.

Morro Fi operates in a narrow space that had been a bodega from the 1950s until 2010, when Fernandez first opened his vermuteria—vermouth bar—after covering the city’s bar scene as a blogger. “This is the perfect bar for me: a contemporary place that hasn’t invented anything,” he said. “I don’t know if this bar would work if you put it in the U.S.”

I found that to be true of vermuteria in general when I spent a few days recently on a vermouth crawl—slowly,  leisurely—sampling the house drink at a number of spots. At Bar Electricitat, in the old port neighborhood of Barceloneta lined with barrels, I drank vermouth from an unmarked bottle, which the waiter measured to calculate my bill. At the more posh (and touristed) Quimet & Quimet in the Poble Sec neighborhood, I scarfed down tinned cockles in oil, montaditos, and stuffed piquillo peppers.

Vermouth is an aromatized wine, infused with botanicals, herbs, spices, and fruits, and fortified to clock in at around 17% ABV. The ingredients are usually secret, but they generally include quinine, wormwood, citrus peel, vanilla, gentian root, thyme, ginger, and baking spices. “Producers will say, ‘Ah, our vermouth has 30 or 60 or 1 million herbs,’” says Fernandez, who created his own house vermouth for Morro Fi. “Ours has 10 ingredients,” he said, “but it’s a secret.”

The historic roots of vermouth lie in Torino, Italy, where it became a staple in the late 18^th century. By the mid-to-late 19^th century, the beverage was being exported all over the world. Barcelona, in that era, had the largest community of Italian immigrants in Spain, and the local importer of Martini vermouth created a bar that was decorated in part by legendary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. “That’s when vermouth became the drink of choice for Catalans,” said François Monti, a Spain-based drinks writer and author of El Gran Libro del Vermut. Catalonia is now the center of vermouth production in Spain, and it’s home to dozens of brands. (Catalan brands such as Casa Mariol, Yzaguirre, and Timbal can all be found in the U.S.)

I met my friend Lucy Garcia, a Barcelona-based film producer who worked with Anthony Bourdain when he shot in Spain, at Cala del Vermut , near Barcelona’s old Gothic cathedral. There, we ate a fantastic tortilla, patatas bravas, and pan con tomate with our vermouth, which was poured from a barrel on the bar. “Fer el vermut” (literally ‘to do a vermouth’) ”was typically done all around Cataluña and almost disappeared in Barcelona, pretty much around the same time people stopped going to mass,” said Garcia. “It was basically an old man’s drink until about 10 years ago.” At Cala del Vermut on that evening there were no old men, but rather a good-looking, smartly-dressed young crowd.

A decade ago, a younger generation of trendsetters — like Fernandez — kicked off a vermouth renaissance. “Hipsters started to drink vermouth again,” Monti says. But there was also a deeper element: Catalan pride. “This is when Catalonian nationalism was growing. People were interested in local products like vermouth,” Monti said.

Spanish vermouth has evolved into a quite different taste than its Italian cousin. It’s not as bitter—more citrusy and fresh, and meant to be drunk not in cocktails but on the rocks with food. “Spanish vermouth is not something you spend your time thinking about how complex it is, or how sophisticated you are,” Monti said.

In Barcelona, my favorite vermuteria have less to do with the quality of the vermouth, and more of the general vibe. “The weird thing about a great vermouth bar is that vermouth is an afterthought,” Monti says. “A lot of the classic places serve just one brand and often they don’t even communicate what the brand is, they just say, ‘It’s the house pour.’ It’s all about the atmosphere.”

When I asked Garcia which was her favorite vermouth bar in Barcelona, she chuckled, and said: “I love the one in front of my apartment.”

Where to Drink Vermouth in Barcelona

La Cala del Vermut

Next to Barcelona’s old Gothic cathedral, this buzzy spot with classic tapas serves its house vermouth from a barrel on the bar.

Morro Fi

One of the spots that kicked off the vermouth renaissance in Barcelona, Morro Fi has several locations; the most centrally located one is in L’Eixample.

Quimet & Quimet

This crowded, popular spot in Poble Sec has some of the most renowned tapas and bocadillos in town, along with its house made vermouth and a large wine list. Get there early (around 18:00) if you don’t want to wait in line.

Bar Electricitat

Located in the old port neighborhood of Barceloneta, this is among Barcelona’s oldest bars, dating back to 1908. The wall is lined with barrels and the waiter calculates your bill by measuring how much you drank from the unmarked vermouth bottle.

Els Sortidors del Parlament

This lovely spot in the Sant Antoni neighborhood is a good place to start or end a crawl. It has more expansive offerings than many vermuterias, with good wine-by-the glass and craft beer lists. 

Senyor Vermut

A perfect second stop in L’Eixample, just up the street from the original Morro Fi. Expect a mix of old men and hipsters enjoying vermouth with classic Catalan dishes.