Spirit-forward cocktails (ones without mixers like fruit juice or soda water) contain roughly three fluid ounces in total, so you would rarely need more than 1 ½ ounces of vermouth to get the job done. Even the two-parter Americano, a 1:1 ratio of sweet vermouth and Campari, only uses 1 ½ ounces of each, and plenty of drinks use less.
Making a great cocktail is about achieving balance, so the amount of vermouth depends on the strength of the other ingredients. The wine lends a spiced dimensionality to the floral Bénédictine liquor in a Vieux Carré, and prevents punchy Manhattans and martinis from tasting overpoweringly alcohol-forward. If you want to play up the qualities that vermouth creates in these drinks, be sparing. Familiarize yourself with the other ingredients, and only add more than 1 ½ ounces if you’re sure that it won’t throw off the balance of flavors. It’s all too easy to go into sweet, botanical overkill.
As for drinks that use vermouth in smaller quantities, in Negroni and Boulevardiers, sweet vermouth is a smaller player meant to counterbalance Campari’s citrusy bitterness, so you would only need about 1 ounce. Similarly, a “perfect” martini uses ½ ounce dry vermouth and ½ ounce sweet (and you wouldn’t mess with perfection, right?). The milder Blood & Sand and Rob Roy cocktails use just ¾ ounce of vermouth. Generally speaking, these drinks should be kept this way — jacking up the vermouth would erase their subtle balance.
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