Prepare a Refreshing Two-Ingredient Cocktail With Lemonade and Punt E Mes
Last night, I invited a few vaccinated staff members to drink wine, eat pork, and shoot arrows with my new compound bow . Everything went well (only one minor injury), but today I am very tired. So tired that the idea of squeezing citrus fruits among dirty dishes and empty wine bottles is unbearable to me. Luckily, I had the foresight to buy a bottle of strawberry lemonade when I was at Trader Joe’s yesterday.
My original plan was to sour with Punt e Mes, but why measure out sticky syrup or squeeze lemons or limes when store-bought lemonade comes pre-packed with sugar and citrus fruits (and in this case, strawberry juice)?
For those of you unfamiliar with Punt e Mes, it is similar to sweet vermouth except for the bitter one, and this (rather pronounced) bitterness makes it a great partner for sweet, lemon-like drinks. (As an added bonus for the lazy, this drink contains only two ingredients.)
You can simply pour equal parts of the two liquids into a glass with a lot of ice, but I highly recommend shaking them to get some air into them. Extra thinning and aeration prevents syrup formation and makes the cocktail light and refreshing rather than thick and bitter. Try shaking it with one large cube and shaking it vigorously; You will know that you did everything right if there is a small layer of foam on top. To make this amazingly refreshing two-ingredient cocktail, you’ll need:
- 1 1/2 ounce store-bought lemonade (I love Trader Joe’s strawberry lemonade)
- 1 1/2 oz Punt e Mes
Pour both ingredients into a shaker with one large ice cube and shake vigorously. Strain into a glass compartment and drink. If you really want the third ingredient, you can add a strip of lemon or lime zest, but this is not necessary.