Nothing says ‘it’s party time’ more than a bowl of punch. Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown explore the evolution of a drink that’s easy to like, easy to drink and easy to pre-make – leaving you more time to enjoy yourself
A cause for celebration was all one needed to convene friends for food and drink at home during the days of Queen Victoria. Is it any different today? We seem to have rediscovered the joys of entertainment at home or in a bar as a warming alternative to tribal gatherings in more raucous venues.
But who wants to be left stirring up yet another round of pitcher-sized Margaritas, Sangria or Daiquiris for their gang as they hover over a box-set marathon of Game of Thrones or a rousing round of Monopoly? And who wants to spend the whole night stirring, throwing and shaking, leaving their guests to have all the fun?
We first looked to our favourite barman from those ‘banquet years’ for inspiration. Harry Johnson batched up champagne cups for bottling prior to service long before our contemporary call for low-alcohol mixed drinks.
His Crimean Cup à la Marmora married champagne with cognac, rum and maraschino liqueur diluted to strength with soda water, which was then bottled and chilled in advance. Pouring into an ice-filled punch bowl and topping with citrus and pineapple was the only other preparation required.
What we're drinking
A rich and frothy Bourbon or Rye Sour is a wonderful autumn sip, but it was lost for the same reason the Old Fashioned died in decades past – badly made, garnished with the wrong fruit.
As we make our own maraschino cherries, we tend to slip a bit
of the liquid from them into the mix.
Another favourite variation is the New York Sour, which has seen a recent resurgence, though the wine you choose can make a huge difference to the drink. We lean towards a red with a lot of berry flavours to it, such as a Saint-Émilion.
For an even simpler serve, his Claret Cup brought four parts Bordeaux wine with one part champagne and one part soda water for dilution, which was executed and decorated in the same manner.
We have to admit that we are fans of clarified milk punch.
The milk whey softens the sharp edges of the alcohol and, while it dilutes, the mixture imparts a smooth texture to the finish. Johnson’s Duke of Norfolk Punch is the essence of simplicity. Orange and lemon peel and juice are mixed with cognac, sherry and milk, sweetened to taste and steeped in a sealed jug for an entire day.
Strained through a jelly bag until clear, the finished liquid is bottled and is best aged for a few weeks to a month before chilling for service.
When Nick Strangeway opened Mark’s Bar at Hix Soho in 2009, he reintroduced another ‘banquet years’ variation on the clarified milk punch – the Criterion Punch, which was first conjured up by Leo Engel in 1878 for the Criterion Restaurant in Piccadilly Circus. Since then, Strangeway has gone on to craft his whey-enhanced concoctions, such as the St John Milk Punch for the eponymous restaurant, opened in Smithfield by Fergus Henderson.
Just think of it. Mixed drinks prepped a day, a week or even a month in advance that are ready to go straight from the bottle to a waiting vessel filled with ice and some decorative fruit make you a bar star, happy host and relaxed participant in a gathering to remember.
Crimean Cup à la Marmora Glass: Punch bowl and cups 250ml orgeat syrup or to taste |
Duke of Norfolk Punch Glass: Punch bowl and cups 3l cognac |
St John Milk Punch Glass: Punch bowl and cups 320ml honey- and beeswax-infused Hepple gin* |
Pour 700ml of Hepple Gin into a vac-pac bag. Add 50g of honey in honeycomb to the bag.
Seal and cook for an hour at 75-80°C in a water bath. Freeze overnight.Next morning, strain through a coffee filter.*Simmer uncovered 350g of roughly chopped rhubarb in 100ml of fresh blood-orange juice, 75ml of water, and 90g caster sugar until the rhubarb begins to disintegrate.
Leave the syrup to cool and then strain the contents of the pan through a fine sieve.
