We recently spent a long weekend in Sacramento. We packed as much farm-to-fork food and fabulous hand-crafted cocktails as possible into two short days.

Not surprisingly, many of those cocktails involved bourbon. Sweet sweet bourbon.

When we got home, Lewis was inspired by the weekend's fresh local flavors. He decided to create a playful twist on the classic Manhattan-his usual go-to drink when there isn't a house cocktail list. And thus, the Sacramento cocktail was born.

Punt e Mes

The cocktail features a vermouth you may not have tried-Punt e Mes. We'd picked up the Punt e Mes after having a cocktail that featured it and loving its herbal bitterness.

Although we found it next to the sweet vermouth we usually purchase, it's got a distinct taste that is unlike other vermouths I've tried. A golden orange color with topaz tones, its name roughly means "one point sweetness and a half a point of bitterness".

Look for Punt e Mes at your favorite local specialty liquor retailer, or a national adult beverage specialist such as BevMo. If you can't find it, you can always substitute another vermouth or an herbal liqueur, but it just won't be a Sacramento Cocktail. Trust me-it's worth it to give the Punt e Mes a try.

Even More Bourbon Cocktails

If The Sacramento Cocktail whets your appetite for more bourbon cocktails, give these bourbon-based cocktail recipes a try:

The Sacramento Cocktail

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