Squid Mixes: Salto e Mes

The recently discovered Leap-Year Cocktail has become a popular drink at our house.  My wife describes it as a "Sidecar for grownups."  Given our new practice of substituting Punt e Mes for sweet vermouth in as many recipes as possible, the Leap-Year became an obvious target.

We did a side-by-side comparison.  The one with Punt e Mes is on the left, the one with sweet vermouth on the right.  The first obvious difference is the color, the Punt e Mes bringing more red to the party.  The Punt e Mes also supplies the raisiny flavor we first experienced in a Manhattan, providing dimension which is absent with sweet vermouth.

Alas, I've found other Leap-Year recipes using Punt e Mes so I don't get to rename the drink.  Even so, we've come up with a pet name for this variation.  My initial thought was a Leap-and-a-Half.  Punt e mes, you see, means 1.5 in Piedmont Italian.  My wife asked what leap is in Italian: salto according to Google Translate.  Naturally, everything sounds better in Italian.  So, Salto e Mes, it is.

There's still the matter of a garnish.  Harry Craddock's original recipe calls for a lemon twist.  Why not a cherry?  A quick side story...

Inspired by our quest for the ideal Manhattan, and maybe spending less than $22 on a jar of cherries, my wife recently tried jarring her own.  Fortunately, sour cherries are easily obtained in Vermont this time of year.  Her first effort (she doesn't remember where she got the recipe) went quite well so the battle was on...

Cherry Battle: Luxardo vs. Homemade Candied Sour

The harmony between Luxardo cherries and the ingredients of a Manhattan is downright luxuriant so neither of us was expecting to prefer the homemade ones.  The sourness of the latter is nice, though, and it would certainly be worth finding a more appropriate cocktail pairing for them.  My wife feels the sour cherries might be nice before drinking the Manhattan, a garnish aperitif, if you will.  It would seem the consumption of our favorite cocktail is taking on ritualistic aspects at our house.

I believe I'm alright with this.

Winner and Still Champion: Luxardo

Nosing their way into the Manhattan drinking ritual: homemade candied sour cherries

Full disclosure, I wrote the cherry battle chronicle before our Leap-Year experiment.  I am pleased to say we have now found a happy mixological home for the new cherries.  They work beautifully in a Salto e Mes. 

So, our home recipe for a Leap-Year Cocktail, affectionately known as a Salto e Mes:

2 oz. gin

1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

1/2 oz. Punt e Mes

1/4 oz. lemon juice

1 homemade candied sour cherry for garnish

Shake, strain and serve.