Carpano’s Punt e Mes Vermouth is deep and intriguing, from its dark wine-y color to its plummy, raisin-like fragrance. A fleeting sweetness, redolent of dried fruits and juicy prune notes, gives way to a dry, bitter finish.

The bizarre origin of the name “Punt e Mes” came into common usage as wine shop regulars began ordering Punt e Mes with a gesture: they would only need to raise their thumb to mean one point and trace a straight line upwards in mid-air to mean a half point, an efficient sign to ask the barman for one part sweet to half a part bitter. This was a favorite drink of the founder of FIAT, Giovanni Agnelli, as he recalled in his memoirs of 1916.