Last night I had some vaccinated staff to drink wine, eat pork, and shoot some arrows with it my new compound bow. It went well (with only one minor injury) but I’m very tired today. So tired, in fact, that the idea of squeezing citrus fruits between dirty dishes and empty wine bottles is way too much for me. Fortunately, I had the foresight to buy a bottle of strawberry lemonade when I was at Trader Joe’s yesterday afternoon.
My original plan was to make a sour one with Punt e Mes, but why measure sticky syrup or squeeze lemons or limes when store-bought lemonade is prepackaged with sugar and citrus (and in this case, strawberry juice)?
For those of you new to Punt e Mes, it’s like sweet vermouth, except bitter, and this (fairly pronounced) bitterness makes it an excellent partner for sugary, lemony drinks. (As an added bonus for the lazy, this drink only has two ingredients.)
You could just pour equal parts of the two liquids into a glass with lots of ice, but I highly recommend shaking them to get some air in. The extra dilution and ventilation keep things from getting syrupy and make the cocktail feel light and refreshing, rather than thick and bitter. Shake it with a large cube and shake it vigorously. You will know you got it right when there is a nice little layer of foam on top. To make this surprisingly refreshing two-ingredient cocktail you will need:
- 1 1/2 ounces store-bought lemonade (I really like Trader Joe’s strawberry lemonade)
- 1 1/2 ounces punt and month
Pour both ingredients into a cocktail shaker with a large ice cube and shake it vigorously. Strain into a coupe glass and sip. If you really want a third ingredient, you can add a strip of lemon or lime peel, but it is not essential.
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