Tag: punch

8. Scotch Whiskey Punch

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8. Scotch Whiskey Punch - Hero

Sometimes, Jerry Thomas is kind of a douche. This is one of those times. You’ll see why in the description for this drink, of which there are minimal details. Of course, he then turns around and gives specific details in the very next recipe, so he really waffles a bit. I used the rough proportions from the next drink (out tomorrow) to make this one.

Not a huge amount of related news, but in an effort to be informative, a few stories about Latin America. Donald Trump met with the Mexican president, in a meeting I wish I had been there to see. Meanwhile, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil was (finally) impeached. It’s a one-two punch of leadership stories!

8. Scotch Whiskey Punch - Ingredients

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34. St. Charles’ Punch

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Happy Fourth of July to all my US readers! And, happy fourth of July to all the rest of you. (No reason not to celebrate the day, I say.) In honor of this occasion, another delicious punch from a very American hero — I’ve said it before, but just to note again — the Bartender’s Guide is the first American cocktail handbook. A piece of history! And this drink is very patriotically colored. Now go make yourself a glass, and watch the fireworks.

No super interesting news stories today (other than my realization that we are just ten years away from the 250th birthday of the United States, which is exciting and also surprising that it hasn’t even been that long), so instead, a quick quote about the inspiration for this drink. It’s apparently named after the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans at the time. Generously described in Mary Cable’s Lost New Orleans:

The St. Charles was certainly no common structure. It was taller than any building in New Orleans — six stories, surmounted by a gleaming white dome that could be seen for miles up and down the river. According to Norman’s 1845 guidebook, “The effect of the dome upon the sight of the visitor, as he approaches the city, is similar to that of St. Paul’s in London.” Mr. Norman, beside himself with admiration, went on to speak of the “indescribable effect of the sublime and matchless proportions of this building upon all spectators — even the stoical Indian and the cold and strange backwoodsman, when they first view it, are struck with wonder and delight.”

Sadly, it no longer exists. Drink to its memory!

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4. Mississippi Punch

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Mississippi-Punch-2

Oy, it’s a hot one today. Cool down and relax with Jerry Thomas’ latest. I have to imagine this is named after the state which has hot, muggy weather all summer long. Only one cure, since there wasn’t air conditioning in 1862 — alcohol.

In Mississippi today, the case of three civil rights workers being burned in 1964, dubbed the “Mississippi Burning” case, has been officially closed. The last person was convicted in 2005, so someone will have to explain to me the legal parts of this.

Mississippi-Ingredients

4. Mississippi Punch

(Use large bar glass.)

  • 2 oz. of brandy.
  • 1 oz. of Jamaica rum.
  • 1 oz. of Bourbon whiskey.
  • 1 oz. of water.
  • 1½ table-spoonful of powdered white sugar.
  • ¼ of a large lemon.
  • Fill a tumbler with shaved ice.
  • The above must be well shaken, and to those who like their draughts “like linked sweetness long drawn out,” [Sounds very southern to me.] let them use a glass tube or straw to sip the nectar through. The top of this punch should be ornamented with small pieces of orange, and berries in season.

Tasting Notes:

BN: This was mostly good. I just read a book on the history of the Old Fashioned, and apparently there was a long period in the middle of the 1900s where people threw all kinds of fruit in them and they tasted a little sweet but still bourbon-y. I’ve never had one of those, specifically, but I think this is what that would taste like. The bourbon came through strongly (less so the other alcohols), and it was certainly fruity. Though not citrusy, really, oddly. Nowhere near as good as his other punches, though.

This also brought up some process questions for me. Why so much shaved ice? It waters things down so quickly, especially when it’s hot. Secondly, the amounts in this recipe were rather odd. It’s 5 oz. of alcohol, which is a lot for one drink, but it’s not really enough liquid for two. We split it, but the pours were light. Was it for a solo drinker? Finally, what was the purpose of his guide? Was it for bartenders to be ready if someone came in and ordered a “Mississippi Punch?” Or was he just sharing ideas for them to offer, not receive.

I do love the “linked sweetness” line, though.

PiC: It’s got some bite! It is a touch too alcoholic for me, but not bad. Kind of like a Jerry Thomas Long Island Iced Tea. (WHY DON’T ALL HIS PUNCHES USE RASPBERRY SYRUP?!)

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21. Roman Punch

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1-Roman-Punch

I’ll start this entry out by saying this is one of the top three Jerry Thomas concoctions I’ve made so far. And the thing all of those (this, 2. Brandy Punch, and 12. Champagne Punch) have in common? The raspberry syrup. So, apparently that’s just the best.

In the Phillippines, they just elected their first transgender politician, Geraldine Roman. As there are no openly LGBT politicians in the nation until now, this is a big step forward! Not much else to report, other than a lot of news about the new Uncharted video game which I guess has a character named Roman.

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21. Roman Punch

(Use large bar glass.)

  • 1 table-spoonful of sugar.
  • 1 table-spoonful of raspberry syrup [Recipe here.]
  • 1 tea-spoonful of Curaçoa.
  • 2 oz. Jamaica rum. [We decided this meant dark rum.]
  • 1 oz. brandy.
  • The juice of half a lemon.
  • Fill with shaved ice, shake well, dash with port wine, and ornament with fruits in season. Imbibe through a straw.

Roman-Punch-GIF

2-Roman-Punch

Tasting Notes:

BN: I loved this. Another easy to make recipe (just throw everything together), and so delicious. The spiced rum and raspberry mixed really nicely, and the curaçao merged in to add a bit more fruitiness. I actually could have used a little more of that, and will do so next time (a teaspoon is a really small amount). It was easy to drink and had a lot of depth of flavor. Definitely use the straw, too, as you get a better mix of flavors from the bottom than the top, and you don’t have to deal with the shaved ice. Also, I put in a little too much (way more than a dash) of port accidentally, and the straw helped with that.

PiC: I really liked this. It almost has a medicinal taste, but not in a bad way, and it doesn’t quite get there. It’s sweet but not too sweet, and of course it’s very pretty. I imagine you could make this in a big batch for a party and it would be perfect.

22. Milk Punch

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3-Cold-Punch

Knocked out two in a row for this weekend. Why two? Well, because one is exactly the same as the other one, just differs in temperature. The hot version of this is over here. For now, the chilly one.

In the news world, not much to report. Louisiana apparently barred (or rather, chose to not allow) the sale of raw milk, due to health risks. Needless to say, I did not use raw milk for this. Sorry for the lame news (two in a row). It was either this or a story about donated breast milk, which is probably more interesting, but slightly less appetizing.

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17. Vanilla Punch

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VanillaPunch3

Well, I spent all this time getting curaçao and then decided to make one of his drinks that doesn’t actually need it. Ah well, it was still delicious.

Vanilla Ice performed on the Today Show yesterday. I have no understanding of why this happened. Also, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were involved. This may have been a piece (one of the many) of 90s culture that I missed.

VanillaPunchIngredients

17. Vanilla Punch

(Use large bar glass.) [We didn’t.]

  • 1 table-spoonful of sugar.
  • 2 oz. brandy.
  • The juice of ¼ of a lemon.
  • Fill the tumbler with shaved ice, shake well, ornament with one or two slices of lemon, and flavor with a few drops of vanilla extract. [Presumably, you put the ingredients in first, and THEN fill with ice. Also, I used more like 6-7 drops of extract, and you should too.
  • This is a delicious drink, and should be imbibed through a glass tube or straw.

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Tasting Notes:

BN: I’m not sure why it follows that if it’s a delicious drink, it should be imbibed with a straw, but he’s right on both accounts. Vanilla isn’t a super common drink flavor, other than, say, milkshakes, but it paired really well with the citrus, and the bite of the alcohol. The only change I’d like to make to this drink is to maybe add some soda water, to cut the alcohol a tiny bit and, more importantly, make it last longer. Also, shaking with shaved ice is sort of strange, too, but it seemed to work. It was sweet, flavorful, and not overpowering in any particular way.

PiC: I liked it! It wasn’t too sweet, and I liked how much vanilla there was.

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12. Champagne Punch

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Champagne Punch Hero

We were going to have a dinner party a few weekends ago. The party didn’t end up happening, due to the flu (LOOK OUT!), but that meant we had a lot of ingredients lying around. So why not still make a drink? We weren’t the ones that were sick, so we could have all the alcohol we wanted.

Easy to find news this week. A 78-year-old Trump supporter punched a protestor for essentially no reason at a rally on Wednesday. Thankfully, he’s now been charged with assault and disorderly conduct, even though he wasn’t detained at the event itself. He said, after he punched the protestor, “We don’t know who he is, but we know he’s not acting like an American…. The next time we see him, we might have to kill him.” I will refrain from being political. Mostly. Let’s hope Trump never drinks champagne to celebrate a nomination.

Champagne Punch Ingredients

12. Champagne Punch

(Per bottle.)

  • 1 quart bottle of wine. [This is, annoyingly, 1.25 750ml champagne bottles. I ended up roughly proportioning everything else in 4/5ths as well. My guess is it would work fine if you just took this as a regular champagne bottle.]
  • ¼ lb. of sugar. [~half a cup.]
  • 1 orange sliced.
  • The juice of a lemon.
  • 3 slices of pineapple. [I took this to mean rings? Up to you.]
  • 2 oz. raspberry or strawberry syrup. [I used the syrup I made for the Brandy Punch!]
  • Ornament with fruits in season, and serve in champagne goblets.
  • This can be made in any quantity by observing the proportions of the ingredients as given above. Four bottles of wine [So five of OUR bottles] make a gallon, and a gallon is generally sufficient for fifteen persons in a mixed party. For a good champagne punch [Umm… Is this one NOT good? Sending mixed signals here, Jerry.], see “Rocky Mountain Punch,” No. 43.

Champagne Punch Creation GIF

Tasting Notes:

BN: First, we really need champagne glasses… I liked this a lot. He stuffs a lot of his drinks (or at least the punches) full of fruit, which is often a little much for me, but all of these have worked out well so far. It actually tastes very different from the brandy punch, which is surprising since it’s almost the same exact ingredients. I wish it were a little bubblier, and a little less sweet, but that could just be the André.

PiC: I really liked it. I imagine it’s a deadly drink because it’s very sugary and doesn’t taste at all like alcohol. It’s almost like drinking a juice. Plus, it’s very pretty – almost a rose gold which is very trendy right now.

 

2. Brandy Punch

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In theory, I would start with the first recipe. But this book has the confusing method of starting the section with a vague description of how best to make whatever particular type of drink it’s discussing (in this case punches) and then with the first real recipe ignoring everything that came before. But since this is the first concrete recipe, I’m going to do it, and then maybe go back to #1 once all of the punches are complete. Then maybe I’ll understand what he’s trying to get me to do. Maybe.

In the real world, Brandy Clark released a new single on Friday. Brandy Clark is pretty much the greatest — she’s written songs for essentially all of the biggest country stars (and the ones who are less huge but probably better, like Kacey Musgraves), and also has a really good album, 12 Stories, which you should check out. It’s on Spotify! Her new album is coming out in April. This has been a PSA from your friendly Boozy Newsie.

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2. Brandy Punch

(Use large bar glass.)

  • 1 table-spoonful raspberry syrup. [Made this from this Imbibe recipe.]
  • 2 do. white sugar. [so as not to have to put a note every time from now on, I’m going to replace the do. (ditto) with the actual amount.]
  • 1 wine-glass water. [2 oz.]
  • 1½ wine-glass brandy. [I’m also going to adjust to modern measurements. This one’s 3 oz.]
  • ½ small-sized lemon.
  • 2 slices of orange.
  • 1 piece of pine-apple.
  • Fill the tumbler with shaved ice, shake well, and dress the top with berries in season; sip through a straw. [Again, no straw, and I used some raspberries to match the syrup.]

Only thing I’d add here is that I decided rather than using the lemon as a garnish, he meant to squeeze the juice in. The pineapple I put in the glass early so some of the juice should have gotten in as well, but everything else was garnish.

Brandy Punch Prep

Tasting Notes:

BN: You can taste all the elements and they meld well. It’s not super sweet, which is odd because there’s both syrup and sugar in there, but I really like it! The best of the ones I made today.

PiC: It’s almost whiskey sourish, but fresher. That’s GOOD. It’s like a Sour Patch Kid in a drink! The raspberry and the sourness match to be just like the candy. We should remember this one.

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Bonus shot of raspberry syrup:

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