Intelligent Bartender

Read further for punch recipes that pack a punch like Muhammad!

Enduring the cold Canadian winter is no easy feat.  A classic survival kit includes cocktails that kick it ‘Old’s Cool,’ tropical treats to remind us of warmer months and a party punch that pleases the crowd.

Coffee Cocktail (sourced from Jerry Thomas’* Bar-tenders Guide 1887) 
According to Dave Wondrich in IMBIBE:

“Rumour had it that this suave and rich concoction came from New Orleans.  It shouldn’t wonder.  In any case it clearly pushes the cocktail envelope, as the anonymous compiler of the 1887 edition of Thomas’s book noted:  “The name of the drink is a misnomer, as coffee and bitters are not to be found amongst its ingredients, but it looks like coffee when it has been properly concocted, and hence probably its name”.”

1 tbsp powdered white sugar

1 fresh egg

2 oz port wine

1 oz Brandy

2 or 3 lumps of ice

Break the egg into the glass, put in the sugar, and lastly the port wine, brandy and ice.  Shake up very thoroughly, and strain into a medium bar goblet.  Grate a little nutmeg on top before serving.
 
Royal Hawaiian *
This drink is so popular, Dale Degroff and the team at the Rainbow Room kept it on the menu for a full 12 years.

1.5 oz gin (I prefer Bombay Sapphire. Rob.)

1 oz unsweetened pineapple juice

0.5 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice 

0.75 oz Orgeat

Combine all ingredients in a boston glass and fill with ice.  Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Serve without garnish.
*Adapted from The Essential Cocktail by Dale DeGroff
 
The Importance of Punch 
As bottle service is now in, punch has once again become popular and relevant.  The mere sight of a well-adorned bowl of punch causes a social/celebratory effect.  The combinations are endless and the host’s house style should shine through.  

One common guide is as follows: 
‘One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak.’ 

Sour = citrus juice

Sweet = fruit juice/sugar

Strong = alcohol  

Weak = water or ice

Keeping recipes close to this formula should easily lead to magical combinations.
 
Rocky Mountain Punch


The following recipe is from How To Mix Drinks or The Bon Vivant’s Companion by Professor Jerry Thomas*.  As the first published cocktail book (1862), its recipes seem strangely appropriate for our modern times.

For a mixed party of 20 and from a recipe in the possession of Major James Foster, this delicious punch is composed of:

5 bottles of Champagne

1 quart of Jamaican rum

1 Pint of Maraschino liqueur

6 lemons sliced

Sugar to taste

Mix the above ingredients in a large punch bowl.  Place a large, square block of ice ornamented with rock candy, sliced lemons and oranges, and fruits in season in the bowl’s centre.  

Stay thirsty,
Rob.

Rob Montgomery 
Bar Chef @ The Miller Tavern