I’ve been trying to come up with an easy, light, refreshing punch to take to the GUD picnic next weekend. I’m going to make a batch of prescription juleps, since that’s about the best drink ever for dealing with Detroit in July, but I wanted to come up with something else… So, Eastern Market on Saturday, I grabbed some rhubarb, whipped up a batch of rhubarb syrup, and came up with this saucy little bastard…
Rhubarb Rum Punch
2 oz. White Rum (I used Don Q.)
3/4 oz. Lime Juice
3/4 oz. Rhubarb Syrup
Mint
Soda Water
For a single plan cocktail, Combine all ingredients (except soda) in a shaker, and give them a bit of a dry shake. Don’t get crazy, just get that mint a little agitated. Pour over ice, top with soda, swizzle (or stir), and garnish with mint.
For a batch, I’ll be combining 2 bottles of white rum, the juice of about 25 limes, a full bottle of rhubarb syrup, and a solid bunch of mint to a large pitcher. I’ll pour each serving over a few cubes of ice, garnish with club soda, and stir. Should be pretty easy.
This is a pretty solid drink… It’s very light, and very tasty. The important thing is to really get the rhubarb flavor happening, otherwise it’s pretty much just a mojito. For the first batch of syrup, I chopped the rhubarb, but for the big batch I’ll most likely grate about six to ten stalks.
And also, I might add some green tea. Wow.
This is one from the archives that never got published because I wasnt really happy with the pics. However, having just done a really sucky punch post, I figured I’d dust off this little bitch and give a shot…
So Bryan calls me up on Saturday and tells me he is going to some fucking “house party” in the city and asks if I would like to go, etc. I agree, on the condition that we make a punch to take along. I’ve got various reasons for wanting to do this, the first of which is I don’t like keg beer, and the second of which is I don’t like hipsters in tight pants. Okay, that has nothing to do with the punch, but I wanted to squeeze it in. Also, I’ve wanted to make a punch ever since I got Wondrich’s book “Imbibe!” – a gift from Bryan and his fiancée wife Kate. I’ve read thru quite a few recipes, but the one that has really intrigued me was the Philadelphia Fish House Punch (mainly for it’s bitchin name). However, the big problem is this recipe calls for a now defunct ingredient… real peach brandy. Peach brandy would in theory be liquor made by fermenting peaches and distilling the resulting mash. Nobody actually makes it like this anymore, for a reason that is beyond me. While there are a “peach brandies” on the market, these are essentially peach flavoring added to grain alcohol… think peach schnapps. Fortunately Wondrich addresses this issue in his book and provides a work around, using the following recipe which replaces the actual peach brandy with a 9:1 ratio of brandy to peach schnapps:
Philadelphia Fish House Punch
9 oz. brandy
6 oz. rum
1 oz. peach brandy
2/3 cup sugar
3 good sized lemons (6 0z. of lemon juice)
40 oz. water
Note, the original recipe pointed out that this would generally be enough for one person, while Wondrich states it’s more suited for 4 – 5. This means Bryan and I should be able to spilt it, as it’s about a half a gallon.
Preparing the Oleo-Sacrum
The first step is to peel the lemons - avoiding as much of the pith as possible - and placing the peels in a large bowl along with the sugar.
Next, using a muddler (or fucking ladle like me) extract as much of the oils from the lemon peel as possible. This will give your sugar a very ass kicking tanginess.
Add the sugar and lemon peels to one pint of boiling water, and stir just until the sugar is dissolved. This is known as the Oleo Saccrum. Fuck yes it is.
After the OS is ready, the lemons are juiced. Don't be a pussy and use bottled shit.
Finally, add the juice and all the booze to the bowl, and refrigerate for at least two hours. Extract the peels, and add up to an additional pint of water if needed. Bottle.
The good news is this is a great punch recipe. The bad news is everyone kept asking me if I “roofied it.”
I’ve been thinking about punches lately – well actually just thinking about large bowls of liquor – so I figured I’d contribute this month’s MxMo theme which is Punch, hosted by Hobson’s Choice. The following recipe is from Trader Vic’s book. I like it because it’s got bourbon, which I haven’t seen in very many punches, and it’s also got tea, which I’ve never actually had a in a punch before. And also, tea infused cocktails are all the rage right now… and I’m nothing if not a follower of trends.
Stag Special Punch
1 qt. Bourbon
1/2 pt. Maraschino
Juice 6 Lemons
1/2 pt. Jamaican Rum
1/2 pt. Pineapple Juice
1 qt. Strong Green Tea
“Mix in punch bowl with large block of ice and let stand until thoroughly chilled. Garnish with fresh mint and serve in punch cups.”
So, hmmm. Not really stoked with the recipe as stated. I found the maraschino overwhelming – but I am admittedly sensitive to that shit. And I didn’t really get the pineapple juice, which was dissapointing since making pineapple juice is a fucking pain in the ass if you don’t have a Juiceman. Which I ain’t. So I added another cup of pineapple juice, which helped. And then, on a whim, I added the juice of two grapefruits. Which really helped. Is it a punch I would serve at the bar? Not necessarily. But at the end of the day, it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about getting fucking drunk, so in sense, mission accomp’d.
Here’s a link to the “Round-Up” of all the punches submitted this week…
[digg=http://digg.com/food_drink/The_Tom_Jerry_Recipe_by_Captain_McBoozy]
Ever wake up to see 10 inches of snow on your George Foreman electric grill and say to yourself ,”what in the fuck am I doing with my life?” And then you’re like, “I think I’m just gonna stay home, get drunk and play some Batman.” And then your wife is like, “Hon, let’s go to the gym!” And then you’re like, “No, but I am gonna make Tom & Jerrys and play some god damned Batman.” And then she’s like “you need help?” Sure you have.
Tom & Jerry (For a party of one – six)
6 Eggs
1/2 c. Sugar
Bottle Dark Rum
Bottle Brandy or Cognac
Milk
Preparing “The Dope”
(up to a day in advance, follow in order)
Separate the whites from the yolks in two different bowls. Add sugar and 2 oz. Brandy to yolks. Whisk whites until frothy. Whisk yolk mixture until sugar is dissolved. Fold yolk mixture into whites mixture.
Preparing a Mug
Fill a mug with hot water, and allow it to sit for a moment. Discard water and immediately add 1.5 0z. brandy and 1.5 oz. rum, along with 3 0z. dope mixture. Stir constantly to avoid curdling. Top off mug with hot milk, and grate a bit of nutmeg over top.
This is a long one, but well worth. It’s not hard to make, but takes a bit of faith and patience. Don’t be grossed out because you are essentially drinking a few ounces of raw egg – put that out of your head, at least until you take the first sip. You see, this is Egg Nog, as it was meant to be.
I said I was gonna try it again, didn’t I. Fuck yes I did. So I grabbed on some Kraken, which is a pretty dang sweet-assed dark rum, and only about $20 here in MI, and I was like, “jeez, what in the dick should I make?” And then, I remembered a promise I made to you, loyal reader, and was like, heck yes it’s time! Sweet bastard. Sweet f-ing bastard. Sweet, sweet, fucking sally boy.
Planter’s Punch (Trader Vic’s recipe, as published in his 1947 book, The Bartender’s Guide)
* 3 ounces dark rum
* 1 ounce lime juice
* 1/2 ounce lemon juice
* 1/2 ounce grenadine
* 1/4 teaspoon superfine sugar
Combine all ingredients in a shaker, give a good dry shake, serve over ice. Garnish, if you’re “like that.”
Umm, it’s strong. So that’s pretty cool. I used home made grenadine, but you can fend for yourself on that one. It’s along the lines of a Ramos Gin Fizz, in terms of drinkability, meaning it goes down quick but has some balls. Anyhoo. Apre moi, deluge.
Also, I was going to call this post the Kraken Myass, but decided to be more classier.
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