Someone Please Talk Me Down Off of the Punt-e-Mes Ledge

[Choirgirl21]

My dinner club is tomorrow night. We always include a pre-dinner cocktail and I settled on a take on this twist on a Manhattan because lord knows I love my Luxardo:

2 oz. bourbon (or rye whiskey – take your pick)
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
2 dashes orange bitters
Bourbon-Bathed Cherry for garnish

except that I planned to use Punt e Mes instead of sweet vermouth based on some reading I did and garnish with a pickled sour cherry because I have them. Figured I'd keep the cherry theme going by using cherry bitters instead of orange, but hadn't settled on that (is anyone crying yet at this total abomination ).

Anyway, I went to the Mo Co liquor store (my first bad call, but I am really pressed for time and it was on my way home from doing something else) to get the only ingredient I didn't have, the Punt e Mes and of course they didn't have it. So under pressure I had to pick a sweet vermouth. Thinking M&R couldn't be good for that money, I picked up the bottle of Noilly Prat (they had no Dolin or anything else of better quality). Then I got back to my desk and starting looking online and immediately regretted my decision.

So now I am contemplating driving out of my way to get what I originally wanted and having to return the Noilly Prat later. This it stupid. I should let it go. It's not important in the end. But I am a perfectionist. Someone please talk me down!!

[DrXmus]

I didn't realize M&R was frowned-upon. It was my standard (which I realize doesn't mean much) until I found Carpano. Anyhoo, your drink is a Red Hook with the addition of Orange Bitters. You can make a Punt e Mes substitute with 2:1 sweet vermouth and Campari. If you're doing that, I can't imagine you'd care if it's M&R, Dolin or Stock. Chill out, dude (in the gender-neutral sense). Use what you have!!

[Toogs]

My dinner club is tomorrow night. We always include a pre-dinner cocktail and I settled on a take on this twist on a Manhattan because lord knows I love my Luxardo:

2 oz. bourbon (or rye whiskey – take your pick)

1/2 oz. sweet vermouth

1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur

2 dashes orange bitters

Bourbon-Bathed Cherry for garnish

except that I planned to use Punt e Mes instead of sweet vermouth based on some reading I did and garnish with a pickled sour cherry because I have them. Figured I'd keep the cherry theme going by using cherry bitters instead of orange, but hadn't settled on that (is anyone crying yet at this total abomination ).

Anyway, I went to the Mo Co liquor store (my first bad call, but I am really pressed for time and it was on my way home from doing something else) to get the only ingredient I didn't have, the Punt e Mes and of course they didn't have it. So under pressure I had to pick a sweet vermouth. Thinking M&R couldn't be good for that money, I picked up the bottle of Noilly Prat (they had no Dolin or anything else of better quality). Then I got back to my desk and starting looking online and immediately regretted my decision.

So now I am contemplating driving out of my way to get what I originally wanted and having to return the Noilly Prat later. This it stupid. I should let it go. It's not important in the end. But I am a perfectionist. Someone please talk me down!!

I will talk you down.

I know everyone that will be there and no one is going to know the difference. I will probably get drunk and inform them of the inferiority of the ingredients. Apologies in advance.

[Choirgirl21]

I didn't realize M&R was frowned-upon. It was my standard (which I realize doesn't mean much) until I found Carpano. Anyhoo, your drink is a Red Hook with the addition of Orange Bitters. You can make a Punt e Mes substitute with 2:1 sweet vermouth and Campari. If you're doing that, I can't imagine you'd care if it's M&R, Dolin or Stock. Chill out, dude (in the gender-neutral sense). Use what you have!!

I don't think it is. That was my stupidity. From my reading since, I think M&R is generally viewed as a nice neutral vermouth, especially if you want to play around with things like bitters. Hence my horror at having purchased the more expensive and likely inferior (at least for this purpose) Noilly Prat. And yes, you are right, it is a Red Hook, I had forgotten I saw that. Thanks for the suggestion of the vermouth/campari substitution, I had wondered about that given the reported bitterness in Punt e Mes.

I'm probably still going to the liquor store again.

[Choirgirl21]

I will talk you down.

I know everyone that will be there and no one is going to know the difference. I will probably get drunk and inform them of the inferiority of the ingredients. Apologies in advance.

I know better than to serve you a bourbon cocktail at my dinner party. You can have a tonic with lime.

[DrXmus]

I'm probably still going to the liquor store again.

Yes, go to the store. Just like every home project is a reason to buy a new tool, every drink is a reason to buy more liquor.

[bookluvingbabe]

Can you make a test drink with what you have? You won't know unless you try it.

(And it will calm you down.)

And then you can track down something else if you hate it.

[Choirgirl21]

Can you make a test drink with what you have? You won't know unless you try it.

(And it will calm you down.)

And then you can track down something else if you hate it.

I am considering doing that tonight when I am done with my cooking if there's any time left. The one issue with that is what am I going to do with a full bottle of Noilly Prat if I don't like it? I'm not drinking nearly as much these days and I read that vermouth does spoil. So a big part of me is inclined to just get the half bottle of M&R and be done with it. But, at the rate I'm going there will be no time to get to the liquor store and I will have no choice.

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me the NP will be delicious in this cocktail...

[DaRiv18]

NP will definitely be delicious in the cocktail. DrXmus is a cool dude, you should listen to him! And if you don't have Campari, use Aperol.

Since Punt e Mes costs twice as much as NP, and since in my experience my guests have never really noticed a huge difference in cocktail ingredients (especially when I'm trying to be fancy and cutting-edge), and since the Luxardo is such an overpoweringly funky liqueur anyways, I would really doubt it is worth going back to exchange bottles, for a casual audience. If anything, I would buy a bottle of Campari and keep the NP.

[Joe H]

The avatar is before. The ledge is after...

[Choirgirl21]

NP will definitely be delicious in the cocktail. DrXmus is a cool dude, you should listen to him! And if you don't have Campari, use Aperol.

Since Punt e Mes costs twice as much as NP, and since in my experience my guests have never really noticed a huge difference in cocktail ingredients (especially when I'm trying to be fancy and cutting-edge), and since the Luxardo is such an overpoweringly funky liqueur anyways, I would really doubt it is worth going back to exchange bottles, for a casual audience. If anything, I would buy a bottle of Campari and keep the NP.

Thanks. I already have Campari so I guess I am all set. Considering I have 2 more things on tonight's to do list on top of everything else tomorrow and I am giving up and going to bed, there will be no time for liquor foolishness tomorrow (except for pre-guest arrival drink testing - hope my guests don't mind if I'm hammered when they arrive).

Joe H, thanks for that.

[Choirgirl21]

Had a few minutes to recipe test a little before guests came. Went with the 2/3 NP/1/3 Campari option and a couple of dashes of orange bitters and a dash of Angostura. Just realized that I totally forgot the pickled sour cherries, but that may have been for the best.