MxMo XIX: Punt e Mes Cooler
Mixology Monday, Vermouth September 18th, 2007
Since acquiring Punt e Mes last week I've been tinkering with it and chose it as my focus going into Mixology Monday 19. Punt e Mes is an apertif that is frequently used in place of Campari to create smoother, less bitter, but still strongly herbal edge to a mixed drink. A classic example is the Negroni. By replacing the Campari in a Negroni with Punt e Mes, you still have a strongly bitter and herbal drink but the sharpness is taken down a few notches and instead of that instinctive puckered face and shiver-down-the-spine reaction most people have when first encountering Campari you get a 'Hmm, that's interesting', and then they shiver. See?, much better.
For the end of Summer I wanted to explore a tall drink, and while the Punt e Mes Negroni was nice, it just wasn't different enough to get me excited enough to write about. So, I went back and thought about the Tart Gin Cooler I wrote about a couple of months ago for inspiration and came up with the 'Point and a Half Cooler' (get it? 'Punt e Mes' = 'Point and a half'… Hah!). It turned out very nicely, even if Joana did say it tasted like 'moldy wood'.1
Point and a Half Cooler
- 1 1/2 oz gin
- 1/2 oz Punt e Mes
- 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3-4 oz soda
Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and pour into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with soda and a twist of lemon peel. Garnish with lemon twist.
This actually reminds me very much of drinking a highly herbal grapefruit-based drink. It's highly refreshing and while, obviously, not for everyone, I think it's a nice "starter drink" for someone interested in Campari, bitter apertif cocktails, and/or moving into Negroni territory. I suppose you could add a dash of Angostura or Peychaud's bitters but in my opinion, what would be the point? This features Punt e Mes very nicely and the gin, lemon juice, and sugar provide a nice balanced platform on which the Punt e Mes can strut its stuff.
The big question for me is how does Punt e Mes (produced by Carpano) differ from the Carpano Antica I also purchased? With all the apertif-style spirits I now have at my disposal, especially in the red variety, I'm thinking I might need to commit an evening to pondering and answering just such weighty and pithy questions… Indeed…*grabs pipe importantly, smokes it*
*coughs and gags*
- I didn't have the inclination to tell her wormwood is a primary component of Punt e Mes' flavoring [↩]
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This is one of those posts I love and hate about cocktail blogging. This sounds really cool, and I will NEVER have the chance to try it. No way the Punt e Mes is available in Ohio. But I’d love to try it since I’d really love to have a Negroni-like drink that I can handle more than one sip of! Yes, I am a wimp!
*cough – cough* (to live up to expectations as opinionated alchemist) I would like to mention, that Punt e mes or Carpano Antiqua are not spirits, but wine-aperitifs – very similar to vermouth… means they are wine based.
THOUGH… very nice post – I never thought about to substitute Campari with Punt e mes – and this I will directly try! Shame on me, that I am so conventional, that I don’t think about something that easy but creative…
Cheers!
DMJ
You’re absolutely correct, of course. I was using ’spirits’ as a broad term for anything containing alcohol but, obviously, the distinctions are important given that that would then group sake and, let’s say ohhhhhhh, Arak or Ouzo, and of course that’s not the case. Excellent point, sir.
My girlfriend made one of these last night as the last beverage of the evening. Her comments in regard to the drink were as follows:
1. Start of drink.
“Wow, that’s yummy.”
2. Middle of drink.
“Smells like bitter. Tastes like delicious.”
3. End of drink.
“That’s a fuckin’ good drink.”
Thought you’d like to know
Cheers!
That’s great, Adam! I’m glad she enjoyed it. I really like the combination and effect of blending a Collins and Negroni concept with a milder bitter vermouth.
Yeah Gabriel. I liked it too, but can’t drink too much of it. Citrus = immediate heartburn for me.
But I’m a fan of Campari (and the Negroni), and she isn’t – so I’m really psyched about this “gateway” option.
Good thinkin’ Lincoln – I would have never thought to use Punt e Mes that way. I originally bought it to make Red Hooks.
Thanks!