Today’s interlude is brought to you not by Jerry Thomas, but by the New Year’s Eve party I made this for. This is a (very tasty) recipe, modified in this particular occasion, from Saveur magazine, presented below. I’ve made this a few times now, though, and it’s always a hit. A little dangerous alcohol-wise, and addictive, but hey, it (was) New Year’s Eve. Might as well!

For those of you in the northeast, be warned! Your houses are about to be chilled again with a “one-two punch” (their words, not mine, so it’s okay) of more bad weather this weekend. It’s times like these I really miss being back home. Which is weird, I know, but it’s just how I am. Will hopefully be up in the snowy California mountains soon, which is almost as good. Anyways, wait out the storm with a hot cider and then you’ve got all three words in one blurb! I mean… a good drink. Both.

Chilled Cider Punch (adapted from Saveur)

Serves 15-20

• 8 cups apple cider
• 1 (750 ml.) bottle of dry hard cider [Learned that this is a touch over 2 beer bottles, if that’s the kind of vessel you have available.]
• 3 (12-oz.) bottles of ginger beer [We accidentally got alcoholic ginger beer this time, which was tasty but probably not great for increasing overall alcohol content.]
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups blended scotch whiskey [Saveur uses Irish.]
• Juice of one lemon
• Several dashes Peychaud’s bitters [Saveur uses orange bitters.]
• 1 orange sliced into rounds, for garnish
• Cinnamon sticks, for garnish

Combine the ciders, ginger beer, whiskey, lemon juice, and bitters in a large punch bowl or pitcher. Stir to combine. Top with orange slices and cinnamon sticks. Ladle into ice-filled punch glasses.

Tasting Notes

BN: As always, I liked this! I liked the extra punch the Peychaud’s gave it, though the orange is also good. It’s crisp and cold and doesn’t taste alcoholic at all, which could be either good or bad. I love ginger beer, too, so pretty much anything with that is going to be good. You could also heat this up, I imagine, for a spiked mulled cider type thing. I might want a touch more citrus/juice which would also help with the ABV.

PiC: Really tasty! I could drink this forever, which would not be ideal. And I don’t even like scotch.