The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.
As it was just the holidays and I have been making Jerry Thomas punches of late, I thought it keen to make a festive punch for my own holiday party. And there is one thing that I learned about punch – tis wise to have an RSVP on your reservation so the amplitude of merry juice is befitting to the size of the crowd. I showed no reluctance in my favoritism of mixing juices and spirits and thus ended up with enough celebratory serum to ensure weekend drunkenness for the entire neighborhood for the next few weeks. I also learned that punch is a delightful way to rid yourself of all the bottles that have just a squeak or a pinch left in them.
But back to Jerry Thomas and his punches. I made three punches today (in quantities befitting of one 125-pound girl): Orgeat Punch, Curaçao Punch, and Roman Punch. They are all quite similar as they all contain brandy and I must say that the Curaçao Punch is my favorite. As I often have found, raspberry mixed with lemon juice and brandy tends to taste a bit like cough syrup (and as such the Roman Punch does too). I made the Orgeat Punch twice, the first with the port float – which was o.k. But then I made it again with a float of Goslings, and that was lovely.
Orgeat Punch
3/4 ounce of orgeat syrup (orgeat syrup is an almond syrup with a hint of orange)
3 ounces of brandy
1 ounces of lemon juice
Fill a shaker with ice, shake, and strain. Float a bit of port wine on the top. Garnish with berries that are in season. Serve with a straw.
Click here to the recipe for orgeat syrup.
Curaçao Punch
1/2 ounce of simple syrup
2 ounces of brandy
1/2 ounce of Jamaican Rum (I used Appleton Estate as I have a small bottle that was a gift from my friend who does charitable dental work there)
1 ounce of Curaçao (decide how orange-y you want it, if you just like it sweet use a less expensive triple sec, but if you like it with a lot more orange use Cointreau or Grand Marnier)
1 ounce of fresh squeezed lemon juice
Fill a shaker with ice, shake, and strain. Garnish with berries that are in season. Serve with a straw.
Roman Punch
(I’m not sure why this is named Roman Punch as there isn’t anything Roman about it. I’m thinking that perhaps I should throw some grappa on top of it.)
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1 splash of Curaçao
2 ounces of Jamaican Rum
1 ounce of brandy
1 ounce of fresh squeezed lemon juice
Fill a shaker with ice, shake, and strain. Garnish with berries that are in season. Serve with a straw.
To check out Jerry Thomas Measurements from the turn of the century – click here.
To check out other Jerry Thomas Project recipes – click here.
- Columbine QuillenI am a mixologist bartender and this is my blog.
