The Lush Angeles grand tour of amari continues with Punt E Mes, an Italian bitters that has a nice, deep plum flavor and has a slightly more syrupy mouth-feel than Carpano Antica. It pairs brilliantly in conjunction with a sweet component such as the Carpano, providing a lot of structure to the drink.
Truly, Punt E Mes has the depth and texture of a vermouth, only with a bitter flavor reminiscent of Campari. Citrus will be necessary to balance out the flavors, and most often I find myself using orange.
The following drink is inspired by one that my friend Elizabeth showed me from her recent trip to the Bay Area.
AlegrÃa Verde
- 1.5 oz rum
- 0.75 oz Punt E Mes
- 0.75 oz Pedro Ximenez
Stir, serve up, garnished with an orange peel.
This is a cocktail that could benefit from a bit more experimentation regarding the rum; initialy the drink was made using Appleton V/X to great effect. Subsequent attempts using the Neisson proved faulty, as the higher proof threw off the balance of the Punt E Mes and sherry.
At Nopa, a cocktail similar to this uses oloroso sherry rather than Punt E Mes (their rum: Diplomatico), and adds another layer of complexity by smoking a dried orange peel underneath an inverted coupe, effectively an orange smoke "rinse".