Caramel Apple Spritz – Leite’s Culinaria

We had all the ingredients for this apple prosecco drink on hand, except for the prosecco, which never survives long in our household. I picked up a bottle on the way home from work and we were good to go.

I was intrigued by the suggestion of using Punt e Mes, a vermouth that I had never heard of. A quick internet search and I knew I wanted to try to track that down. According to their website, “The story goes that on 19 April 1870 , a stockbroker, caught up in a discussion with colleagues whilst in the Carpano wine shop about the increase in share prices on that day – one and a half points – ordered his usual Carpano vermouth but asked for the barman to add half a measure of bitter, using the regional expression “Punt e Mes”. The drink immediately became popular as an aperitif before lunch, as recalled by the barman of the time Maurizio Boeris.” I was unable to track any down locally, so in the spirit of the original we used a 2:1 mix of sweet vermouth and Campari.

My daughter is a recent graduate of the European Bartender School in Barcelona and she made the drink with entertaining flair in less than a minute. My wife absolutly loved it. The color was a beautiful dark caramel color and filled the wineglass with a generous pour.

This is a drink that just begs to be played with. Next time I make it I intend to use a dry vermouth (rather than the sweet) and a dry crisp cider. People who have sweeter palates should feel free to choose a sweeter cider and leave off the Campari.