Metropolitans, Part 2

Since I tried the imitation Cosmo metropolitans the other day, I decided to mix up a few of the real thing.

The 'real' metropolitan is equal parts brandy and sweet vermouth, bitters, and a sprinkling of sugar or drizzle of simple syrup. So sort of a cross between a Manhattan and a sidecar, without the citrus flavors (though you could use orange bitters for that).

I started with a Punt e Mes metropolitan, since I like that better than regular sweet vermouth. In all these I'm using Korbel brandy. This version wasn't bad; the Campari bitter-herbs flavor came through maybe a little much but it was drinkable.

The second one was made using Dubonnet with the brandy. BTW, Dubonnet has a great web site at www.doyoudubonnet.com. If the Queen of England likes it, you should too. This one wasn't bad; maybe the Dubonnet was a little too fruity.

Last was the real thing, with regular sweet vermouth (Martini & Rossi). As I've said before, I'm not a big sweet vermouth fan. This one's OK, but without as much personality as the first two. You might as well just drink a Manhattan for about the same flavor.

If I get industrious, or thirsty, tonight, I'll dig out my bottle of Lillet rouge from the back of the fridge where it's been lying neglected and try a version with that, and report back. Or maybe Fernet Branca?