piedmont cobbler

2 1/2 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
1 medium Strawberry

Muddle the strawberry, add the rest of the ingredients, shake with ice, and double strain into a Collins glass. Fill with crushed ice, add a straw, and garnish with a strawberry fan.

Since we had a carton of local strawberries, I pondered what drinks that I could find with it that matched my need for a low proof refresher. Knowing that the ones that I had seen in Death & Co. and other books were much boozier, my mind harkened back to a delightful berry Cobbler that I had at Bellocq three years ago called the Dolin Blanc Cobbler. Instead of blanc vermouth, I figured that Punt e Mes would tie in with the strawberries here. The Dolin Blanc Cobbler utilized raspberry syrup, and for a sweetener here, I was drawn to orgeat which would both sooth the bitterness of Punt e Mes and hopefully work as delightfully with strawberries as it had in the Blanche DeBois.
For a name, I latched on to Punt e Mes being produced in the Piedmont area of Italy which is also known for its strawberry harvests, and I dubbed this one the Piedmont Cobbler. Once prepared, the strawberry garnish contributed greatly to the drink's nose. Next, creamy, lemon, and grape notes mingled on the sip, and the swallow was an elegant bitter strawberry and nutty almond combination.