Tag Archives: Punch

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New Year Punch, 2012

Had a few people over for Chinese New Year dinner, so figured I should make a punch. Didn’t know if everyone would be drinking so left the booze out for people to add in their individual cups.

It had to be red and gold, thus the pomegranate and orange wheel garnishes.

Chinese New Year Punch, 2012

Peel and Juice 4 Lemons
1 Cup Sugar
16 oz Pomegranate Juice
2 Teaspoons Green Tea
4 Whole Cloves
4 Green Cardamom Pods, crushed
1 Cup Water
1 Bottle Knudsen Sparkling Pomegranate, Chilled
Oranges, sliced for garnish
Ice
Freshly grated nutmeg

Macerate the Lemon Peels in the Sugar until they release their oils.

Boil water and combine with tea and spices. Steep for 6 Minutes.

Strain hot spiced tea into sugar and peel mixture. Stir to dissolve sugar. Combine strained lemon juice with spiced tea syrup and chill your “Shrub”.

Pour Shrub into punch bowl, add Pomegranate Juice. When guests arrive add ice and Sparkling Pomegranate. Garnish with orange wheels. Serve in small cups and dust with freshly grated nutmeg. Add booze to taste, if desired.

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MxMo LIX: Industrial Pale Fizz

MxMo LIX: Beer!

While beer being used as an ingredient in modern cocktails has gotten a lot of press as of late, this is not a new trend. Beer has played a historical role in mixed drinks for centuries. For example, it can be found in Colonial drinks like the Rumfustian, Porter Sangaree, and Ale Flip. While many of these drinks are not seen in modern bars save for craft cocktail establishments, other beer drinks are though, including the Boilermaker, Black Velvet, and Michelada. And present day mixologists are utilizing beer with great success including Kelly Slagle’s Port of Funchal, Jacob Grier’s Averna Stout Flip, and Emma Hollander’s Word to Your Mom. Bartenders are drawn to beer for a variety of reasons including the glorious malt and roast notes from the grain, the bitter and sometimes floral elements from the hops, the interesting sour or fruity notes from the yeast, and the crispness and bubbles from the carbonation. Beer is not just for pint glasses, so let us honor beer of all styles as a drink ingredient.

When I heard about this month’s Mixology Monday, it sort of put me off. To be honest, I’m not much into “Beer Cocktails”, as to me beer is already pretty much a perfect beverage.

However, when I was thinking more about it…

The two main impetus for distillation were to first preserve fermented beverages from spoiling and second to reduce the volume.

Usually, you talk about these things with regard to how much beer the English Royal Navy or other expeditions had to bring along to satiate their crews and passengers. As in, many people speculate the real reason the pilgrims decided on Plymouth Rock wasn’t so much choice, as they had run out of beer and needed to get to land for provisions to make more. If they ran out of alcoholic beverages for long on ship, they would be facing a mutiny.

So with Punch, what you were doing was, essentially, re-adding to the distilled spirits, what had been lost in the process of distillation: fruit flavor, sweetness, and water.

OK, that is easy to do with Brandy, distilled from fruit, but what about spirits distilled from grain?

How do you turn whiskey back into beer?

Here’s my idea:

A Silver Fizz made with hop infused white dog sweetened with barley syrup.

Hop infused Whiskey

1/4 cup well toasted rye or barley
1 Cup Unaged Whiskey
1 Tablespoon Hops

Add toasted grain to whiskey, let stand to infuse 2 days. On the second day add the hops and let stand another day. Filter out solids and bottle.

Industrial Pale Fizz

2 oz Hop Infused Whiskey
1 Teaspoon Barley Syrup
1 Egg White
Soda Water

Add Whiskey, Syrup, and Egg White to mixing tin. Dry Shake to emulsify. Add ice and shake well. Strain into a Fizz Glass and top with Soda Water.

The question I have, though, is citrus.

The balance of beer is pretty much entirely between bitter and sweet flavors, most often without sour. Do we want to introduce citrus to the drink to make it a Lambic Fizz?

Unfortunately, I didn’t get this much beyond the conceptual stage by the deadline for the MxMo. Stay tuned this week for more details regarding the cocktail.

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SF Chefs Unite

SF Chefs Unite

On May 7th & 8th a line up of top San Francisco chefs will create a meal you can’t get anywhere else. Join us for a cocktail reception, a 6 course Japanese inspired meal with beer, sake, wine and cocktail pairings from some of the best in the business, while perusing the silent auction for local goodies. It’s a night to mix and mingle with some people in your community while helping a great cause.

Leaving aside the worthiness of the cause, if someone asks you if you would like to help out at a benefit featuring chefs which include: Michael Black (Sebo), Danny Bowien (Mission Chinese Food), Jake Godby (Humphry Slocombe), Jordan Grosser (Stag Dining), Robbie Lewis (Bon Appetit), Richie Nakano (Hapa Ramen), and Chat Newton (American Box) you really don’t say no. These are some of the most important names among San Francisco’s Restaurant and chef scene. What I’ve seen of the menu looks off the charts!

I’ll be contributing a punch to be served during the Cocktail Hour and silent auction which precedes the dinner. There will also be beer pairings by Jesse Friedman (of Beer and Nosh and Sodacraft), Wine and Sake pairings from Alex Fox and Alex Finberg, and Cocktails from Scott Baird and Josh Harris of Bon Vivants.

Whenever I’ve made my variations on Jerry Thomas’ California Milk Punch, I’ve always been struck by how similar the ingredients are to the famous San Francisco drink known as “Pisco Punch”.

While most people these days make Pisco Punch a la minute, especially since we have Small Hand Foods Pineapple Gum Syrup at hand, it was originally a real Punch, prepared in a large batch and served out of a bowl.

When they asked me to contribute a Punch for the SF Chefs Unite Benefit, I returned to the quintessential San Francisco Beverage, and decided to return it to its roots.

I called up Encanto Pisco, and they agreed to donate some of their most excellent Pisco for the cause.

Here’s the plan, in a slightly smaller volume recipe:

SanFranPisco Punch

2 Bottles Encanto Pisco
1/2 Bottle Batavia Arrack

1 TBSP Coriander Seed, Crushed
6 Whole Cloves, Crushed
2 Cassia Cinnamon Stick

6 Lemons

16 oz Water
16 oz Sugar
4 tsp Japanese Sencha Green Tea

1 Quart Straus Farms Milk

Method:
Zest citrus and add zest to Pisco and Batavia Arrack. Juice Lemons and add to aforementioned liquid. Add Spices. Allow to infuse for 48 hours.

Heat water and add tea. Steep 6 minutes and stir in sugar. Strain tea leaves out of syrup and chill.

Strain Peels and Spices out of Liquid. Juice other two lemons and add to Flavored Booze Mixture. Heat milk to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Add to Flavored Booze Mixture. Allow to stand undisturbed for 30 minutes and filter through cheesecloth, removing milk solids. Add Tea Syrup to filtered booze mixture and pour into clean containers. Allow to stand for a couple days. Rack clear liquid off of any accumulated sediment into clean bottles and store. Chill well before serving. Serve on ice and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Makes about a gallon.

I hope to see you there!

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Ben Franklin’s Milk Punch

Just so you know I’m not completely nuts, here is Ben Franklin’s recipe for Milk Punch, circa 1763, via documents on the Massachusetts Historical Society website.

Ben Franklin’s Milk Punch

Franklin’s Milk Punch recipe shares characteristics of two types of beverages–possets and syllabubs. Possets combine hot milk with ale, wine, or brandy, sugar, and spices. Heat and alcohol curdle the milk. Possets were used as remedies for colds, and were consumed from the spout of a posset cup, which let one drink the whey from the bottom and eat the curd later. Syllabubs combine milk with wine and lemon juice (or other acids); the acid from the wine and juice curdle the milk. Served in a glass, the foamy curd of the syllabub is eaten with a spoon and the punch drunk.

To make Milk Punch

Take 6 quarts of Brandy, and the Rinds of 44 Lemons pared very thin; Steep the Rinds in the Brandy 24 hours; then strain it off. Put to it 4 Quarts of Water, 4 large Nutmegs grated, 2 quarts of Lemon Juice, 2 pound of double refined Sugar. When the Sugar is dissolv’d, boil 3 Quarts of Milk and put to the rest hot as you take it off the Fire, and stir it about. Let it stand two Hours; then run it thro’ a Jelly-bag till it is clear; then bottle it off. –

As you can see, I’m not taking too many liberties! The brandy would have been cask strength at the time, thus I feel OK using a bit less liquid. I have to say, though, he was pretty liberal with the citrus!

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Conduit Street Punch

So I was looking at a couple of these bottles of “White Whiskey” in my cabinet and thinking to myself, “When on earth will I ever drink this?” Casting about for ways to spare my family the trouble of disposing it after my demise, I got to thinking about the origins of Gin on a base of pot still grain spirit. Then I was reminded that David Wondrich, in his awesome book, “Punch: The Delights and Dangers of the Flowing Bowl,” remarked that the John Collins was a type of punch.

In fact, Reza Esmaili (now of Long Bar & Bistro) once had a drink on the menu at the late lamented Conduit Restaurant called (I think) the Hanover Collins. It had Genevieve Gin, Lemon Juice, and sugar. When I asked about the name, he got enthusiastic and ran to get his notebook, so he could recite the following excerpt.

My name is John Collins,
head-waiter at Limmer’s,
The corner of Conduit Street,
Hanover Square;
My chief occupation is filling of brimmers,
To solace young gentlemen laden with care.

Supposedly, he informed me, the Collins was named after the head waiter at this particular establishment in honor of his wonderful Gin Punch.

Hm, if the Collins is a Punch, maybe I could use these unaged whiskies to replicate it. A sort of bottled Tom Collins Mix.

Well, why not?

Starting with the methods and proportions from my adaption of Jerry Thomas’ California Milk Punch, we’ll give it a try.

Conduit Street Punch

1 Bottle Tuthilltown Old Gristmill Unaged Corn Whiskey, 750ml
1 Bottle Tuthilltown Hudson Unaged Corn Whiskey, 375ml
1 Bottle Death’s Door White Whiskey, 750ml

.6 oz Juniper Berries, Crushed
1 TBSP Coriander, Crushed
1 tsp Celery Seed, Crushed
1 tsp Anise Seed, Crushed
1 Cassia Cinnamon Stick
6 Green Cardamom Pods, Crushed
1 Long Pepper Pod, Crushed

6 Seville Oranges
4 Lemons
2 Limes

16 oz Water
16 oz Sugar
4 tsp Hubei Silver Tips Tea

1 Quart Straus Farms Milk

Method:
Zest citrus and add zest to Whiskies. Juice Oranges, 2 Lemons, and 2 limes. Strain, and add to aforementioned liquid. Add Spices. Allow to infuse for 48 hours.

Heat water and add tea. Steep 6 minutes and stir in sugar. Strain tea leaves out of syrup and chill.

Strain Peels and Spices out of Liquid. Juice other two lemons and add to Flavored Booze Mixture. Heat milk to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Add to Flavored Booze Mixture. Allow to stand undisturbed for 30 minutes and filter through cheesecloth, removing milk solids. Add Tea Syrup to filtered booze mixture and pour into clean containers. Allow to stand for a couple days*. Rack clear liquid off of any accumulated sediment into clean bottles and store. Chill well before serving. Serve on ice and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Makes about 3 quarts.

*If you have space in your refrigerator, storing the punch chilled will greatly accelerate the separation of the remaining milk solids from the other liquids.

Well, hm. Tasting this room temperature, last night, after the Milk step, I was struck by two things. First, the Celery Seed was a mistake. It has an unpleasant earthy flavor which distracts from the higher flavors of anise and juniper. Second, this doesn’t taste like it has any booze in it at all.

When I serve my Milk Punches to people, they often remark that they could easily drink a pint glass of them, they are so smooth. I generally discourage that, as, smoothness and drinkability aside, I am pretty sure the alcohol content is up near 25%. And those were the Milk Punches made from rough spirits like Batavia Arrack and Jamaican Rum. This one, made from unaged pot still clear whiskey, is on an another level of smoothness altogether. Is this vaguely herby citrus water or punch?

I’m not convinced this particular Milk Punch is super awesome, I wish I had left out the Celery Seed. But I will bring it along tomorrow night, Feb 27, 2011, for Savoy Night at Alembic Bar. Stop by and ask for a taste, if you are curious. But I recommend caution.

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EDIT

So, the celery seed element calmed down a lot after resting, and I have decided this is quite an enjoyable punch. The flavor is very light and somewhat reminiscent of Yellow Chartreuse. While fairly sweet, it has a somewhat dry presentation. It is really good, about 50-50 with chilled soda water, though still produces a pretty potent buzz.

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Bernal Heights Milk Punch, Holidays 2010

Been making variations on Jerry Thomas’ California Milk Punch since June of 2009.

This is a citrus centric Milk Punch, not unlike 2009′s ‘Sconnie Punch.

Bernal Heights Milk Punch, Holidays 2010

1 Bottle Osocalis Brandy
1/2 Bottle Batavia Arrack
1/3 Bottle Coruba Jamaican Rum
2/3 Bottle Barbancourt White Rum
Peel 4 Grapefruit
Peel 8 Lemon
Peel 1 Orange
2 teaspoon Cardamom Pods, crushed
2 teaspoon Coriander Seed, crushed
2 Cassia Cinnamon Sticks
20 oz Water
16 oz Sugar
4 tsp. Hubei Silver Tip Green Tea

1 Quart Straus Farms Whole Milk

Method:
Zest citrus and add zest to Brandy, Rums, and Arrack. Juice Oranges, Grapefruit and 6 Lemons, strain, and add to aforementioned liquid. Add Spices. Allow to infuse for at least 48 hours.

Heat water and add tea. Steep 6 minutes and stir in sugar. Strain tea leaves out of syrup and chill.

Strain Peels and Spices out of Liquid. Juice other two lemons and add to Flavored Booze Mixture. Heat milk to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Add to Flavored Booze Mixture. Allow to stand undisturbed for 30 minutes and filter through cheesecloth, removing milk solids. Add Tea Syrup to filtered booze mixture and pour into clean containers. Allow to stand for a couple days*. Rack clear liquid off of any accumulated sediment into clean bottles and store. Chill well before serving. Serve on ice and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Makes about 3 quarts.

*If you have space in your refrigerator, storing the punch chilled will greatly accelerate the separation of the remaining milk solids from the other liquids.

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Great Pumpkin Punch

First, just a reminder that tonight, Sunday, October 31st, 2010, is our monthly exercise in folly, Savoy Cocktail Book Night at Alembic Bar. If any of the cocktails on this blog have captured your fancy, stop by after 6 and allow the skilled bartenders (and me) to make them for you. It is always a fun time.

As a special celebration of the evening, I am bringing along the following fall inspired variation on my Bernal Heights Milk Punch.

Great Pumpkin Punch

1 Bottle Weller 12 Year Bourbon.
1 Bottle Landy Cognac.
1/2 Bottle Batavia Arrack.
4 Small-ish Sweet Potatoes, washed and roasted.
4 Oranges, Zested.
4 Lemons, Zested.
4 Cloves.
2 Sticks Cassia Cinnamon.

16 oz Water.
1/2 Pound Piloncillo.
1/4 Pound Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds), crushed.

1 quart Straus Family Creamery Whole Milk.

Method:
Zest citrus and add zest to Brandy, Bourbon, and Arrack. Juice Oranges and 2 Lemons, strain, and add to aforementioned liquid. Slice Roasted Sweet Potatoes and add to aforementioned liquid. Add Cinnamon and Cloves. Allow to infuse for at least 48 hours.

Heat water and add Piloncillo and Pepitas. Simmer below a boil for 10 minutes and refrigerate over night.

Carefully strain peels, Potatoes, and Spices out of Liquid, trying not to crush potatoes. Juice other two lemons and add to Flavored Booze Mixture. Heat milk to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Add to Flavored Booze Mixture. Allow to stand undisturbed for 30 minutes and filter through cheesecloth, removing milk solids. Filter Pumpkin Seeds out of Syrup, pressing to remove as much liquid as possible, and combine with Flavored Booze Mixture. Cool and allow to stand for a couple days. Rack liquid off of any accumulated sediment into clean bottles and chill well before serving. Makes about 3 quarts.

I will note that at this point, even though some solids have dropped out, this Milk Punch hasn’t cleared up as much as other I have made. I think some of the oils from the pumpkin seeds are in suspension, leaving a louche, like when you add water to orgeat (almond syrup).

I was a bit worried that this would be a horrible mistake, and I would have to throw the whole batch away as a failed experiment. Even some early tastes of the infusion left me worried. However, having tasted the final product, all I’ll say is I couldn’t stop laughing. Totally nailed pumpkin pie in punch form.

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Additional note:

Interestingly, once I moved this punch to the refrigerator, the solids began to drop out of the liquid much more rapidly. It would appear chilling aids the “milk fining” process to work more effectively, something I hadn’t really been aware of before.

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Bernal Heights Milk Punch, July 2010

First off, our next Savoy Cocktail Book night will take place at Alembic Bar August 1st. I hope to see you there!

There’s occasionally confusion about the exact nature of Savoy Cocktail Book night.

A few years ago, the bartenders at Alembic started an event called Savoy Cocktail Book night.

When one of the bartenders left, it sort of fell out of practice.

After they had stopped holding them, I was talking to Daniel Hyatt, bar manager at Alembic, and telling him they should go back to holding the event.

He suggested, if they were going to hold Savoy Cocktail Book night, that I should join them in hosting the event.

Well, twist my arm!

We restarted the monthly Savoy Cocktail Book nights in December of 2008, and have been holding them every month since.

When I’ve talked to people about the event, they are sometimes under the mis-apprehension that we only make a select number of Savoy Cocktails.

That is not the case.

The bar staff at Alembic and I have done our best to find or make every ingredient called for in the book, from Prune Syrup to Kummel to Hercules.

For the evening of the event, The Alembic puts away its regular menu and instead hands out copies of the Savoy Cocktail Book.  We do our best to make any of the 900, or so, cocktails you might order from the book, from Abbey to the Sauterne Cup.

There are a few exceptions: We don’t make cocktails from the 1999 introduction to the book, mostly because they are uniformly horrible and call for ingredients completely at odds with the rest of the book. Passion Fruit Nectar, Banana Schnapps and the like.  We also sometimes can’t make cocktails due to seasonality of the ingredients or because they call for the ingredients to be steeped two hours before the cocktail is served.

We also usually will make a punch or two, though we cannot promise to be able to make any punch in the book a la minute.

In this week’s case, I’m going to be bringing a version of the Savoy Cocktail Book’s “Milk Punch”, which is a reprint of Jerry Thomas’ California Milk Punch recipe.

Amazingly, I’ve been making versions of this Milk Punch for over a year now!

First batch was in June of 2009: Bernal Heights Milk Punch, June 2009

However, until now I have never attempted going full bore and using Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum and Batavia Arrack in the same batch.

Bernal Heights Milk Punch, July 2010

Ingredients:
1 750ml bottle Cognac Park V.S.O.P. (I feel a bit bad about this, but it was the cheapest decent brandy they had at Cask, the only liquor store located near a convenient public transport route and which stocks S&C and Batavia Arrack. You gotta do…)
1 750ml Bottle Smith & Cross Jamaica Rum.
1/2 750ml Bottle Batavia Arrack von Osten.
Peel 4 lemons.
Juice 6 lemons, strained
1 pineapple, chopped and crushed.
6 cloves, crushed.
1 cinnamon stick (cassia).
3 Green Cardamom Pods, crushed.
10 Coriander Seeds, crushed.
4 teaspoons Darjeeling Tea.
16 oz Water.
1/2 # Florida Crystals Natural Sugar.
1 quart Straus Family Creamery Whole Milk.

Method:
Peel lemons and add to Brandy.  Juice 4 lemons and chop pineapple.  Add to rums (including Arrack).  Allow both to infuse for at least 48 hours.

Heat water and add spices and tea. After it has steeped for 10 minutes, strain. Add sugar, stir to combine, and cool.

Juice other two lemons and add to pineapple, lemon, and rum mixture. Heat milk to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Add to Rum, lemon, and pineapple mixture. Allow to stand for 30 minutes and filter through cheesecloth. Strain brandy mixture off peels. Combine Rum mixture, brandy mixture, and syrup. Cool, bottle in clean containers, and chill over night. Filter again through coffee filters, leaving any sediment which has collected in the bottom of the containers behind.  Makes about 3 quarts.

If you’re interested in tasting what funky Jamaica Rum and Batavia Arrack will do in the same punch, stop by Alembic Bar, Sunday, August 1st during our Savoy Cocktail Book night, 6 until around Midnight.

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Cocktail Kingdom Milk Punch

Cocktail Kingdom Milk Punch

1 liter Landy Cognac
1 liter Appleton V/X
375ml Batavia Arrack
Juice and Peel 5 Lemons, 1 Lime
1 Pineapple, chopped
1 1/2 cups water
3 teaspoons Darjeeling Tea
1 Tablespoon Coriander Seed
4 Cardamom Pods, crushed
1 stick Cassia Cinnamon
3 Cups Natural Sugar
1 Quart Straus Farms Whole Milk

Combine Rum, Brandy, Arrack, Chopped Pineapple, Juice and Peel of Lemons and Limes. Let stand to infuse for at least 2 days.

Heat water and steep tea and spices for the usual 6 minutes. Strain off solids. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Cool spiced tea syrup.

Strain rum mixture. Juice boozy pineapple and add to rum mixture. Add Spiced tea syrup to rum mixture.

Heat Milk to 150 degrees F. If your hot plate blows the circuit breaker in the basement and you can’t find a pan, run next door to Starbucks and have them steam it for you. Add hot milk to sweetened rum mixture.

Let stand for 15 minutes.  Strain punch through cheesecloth and chill well before serving.

Makes about 3 liters.

To serve combine 2 parts punch with 1 part soda.

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Sazerac Milk Punch

I was getting a bit low on the previous Milk Punch, so it seemed like it was time for another batch.  Hmmm…  What if I use some of the same ingredients typically found in a Sazerac?

Sazerac Milk Punch

Ingredients:

750ml Old Overholt Rye
750ml Wild Turkey Rye
375ml Smith & Cross Jamaican rum
7 Lemons
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups Sugar Florida Crystals Natural Sugar
1 Puerh Tea Disk
1 Quart Straus Farm Whole Milk
Absinthe

Method:

Steeping Peels

Combine the spirits in a container large enough to hold them and a little extra. Peel and juice 5 of the lemons. Add juice and peels to spirits and let stand for 2 days.

Puerh Tea

Steep tea in hot water for 5 mins and add sugar. Stir to dissolve. Strain out tea leaves and cool.

Milk Solids

Strain Peels out of booze mixture. Add tea syrup to booze. Squeeze juice from remaining lemons and add to mixture. Heat milk to 145 degrees and add too mixture. Let stand for 30 minutes undisturbed.

Milk Solids

Filter through cheesecloth, removing curdled milk solids.

Absinthe

Add absinthe until you can just begin to taste it.

Sazerac Milk Punch

Bottle in clean resealable containers and chill until you are ready to serve.  Makes about 3 liters. To serve, pour over ice and top with 1 part soda to 2 parts punch.

Mrs. Flannestad remarked, “If you meant to make this taste boozy, you have succeeded.”  Not sure if it really tastes much like a Sazerac, but it does taste like a delicious Rye Whiskey Milk Punch. I was going to bring this along to tonight’s Savoy Cocktail Book event, but clearly that would be very, very wrong with the new paradigm being enforced by the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control.

“Are My Favorite Bartenders Going to be Sent to Jail?”

“ABC Crackdown on Infused Liquors”

“Your Favorite Cocktail Could Get A Bartender Fined”

“State warns Bay Area bars not to infuse drinks”

Illegal Infusions: The Word Gets Out

And the best commentary I’ve seen so far, from Dinah and Joe over at Bibulo.us: Echoes of Prohibition. Well, Joe is an actual Lawyer…

So let me get this straight, Sangria is illegal!!??  Don’t tell the Spanish!  Any pre-prepared Punch forbidden?  Jerry Thomas turns over in his grave and David Wondrich gets incrementally grayer!  Any house made liqueur, tincture, or bitters is now verboten!?  I’m so glad that vile commercial products made with corn syrup, artificial flavoring and artificial color are just fine and I can’t make an infusion with actual fruit!!!

Basically any alcoholic mixture not mixed a la minute or involving an alcoholic ingredient not purchased through the distribution chain is against the rules?

Time to join the punch making, spirits infusing, speakeasy underground!