Red Hook

Before I gush about one of my new favorite cocktails, the round-up of Mixology Monday's Drink of Shame is up! I feel like I'm in good company. I'm not even the only one who re-mixed the 7&7: Craig E. created the Fourteen, which I can't wait to try. I'm also planning on mixing up Home Bar Girl's Santa Monica Sunrise and Doc Elliot's Paradise Remembered. (Though I will stand up for the Pina Colada as a legitimate cocktail any day.)

Now, on to a cocktail that needs no modifications: the Red Hook. The Manhattan has been the basis for a number of interesting variations, and most have been cleverly named after other New York neighborhoods. The oldest are named after New York's five boroughs, while the newer versions have either become more localized (Greenpoint, Prospect Park) or gone farther afield (Newark). Many have ingredients beyond the scope of my growing home bar, but the Red Hook was not only doable, but delicious. It's sweet, strong, a little bitter, and very classy. I'm not exaggerating when I say it is officially one of my new favorites.

Instead of just any sweet vermouth, the Red Hook specifically calls for Punt e Mes. This is a type of vermouth that was created by Carpano but was purchased by Fratelli Branca in 2001. The name means "a point and a half" in a Piedmont dialect of Italian. Some folks say it got its name because it was created following a favorable rise in the stock market, others that it refers to the fact that it's mostly sweet but a little bitter. The story on Fratelli Branca's website is that a stock broker from the Piedmont was having lunch at Carpano's Bottega when he ordered vermouth with quina, a bitter French aperitif, saying "punt e mes" to describe the proportions (one measure of vermouth, half a measure of quina). The old Carpano site repeats the story, adding the bit about the point and a half rise in the stock market. Whatever the truth, Punt e Mes is what you want in your Red Hook. It's got some extra bitterness to it, and isn't as sweet as other vermouth, both important qualities when it's combined with something as sweet as maraschino liqueur.

History: This recipe is a recent creation by Enzo Errico at Milk & Honey in New York.

Red Hook

2 oz. rye
1/2 oz. Punt e Mes
1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur*

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir. Strain into an old fashioned glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry if desired.

*The original recipe calls for 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur, but I prefer only 1/4 oz. The more maraschino, the sweeter the drink will be.

Recipe adapted from Imbibe.