Bartender's Corner: Early American Rum Cocktails - Part 11

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Early American Rum Cocktails #11: Hot Brandy and Rum Punch

(From Jerry Thomas’ Bartenders Guide: How To Mix Drinks, 1862)

Ingredients (for a party of fifteen):

1 Quart of Jamaican Rum

1 Quart Cognac Brandy

1 Pound White Loaf-Sugar

4 Lemons

3 Quarts Boiling Water

1 Teaspoon Nutmeg

Directions:

Rub the sugar over the lemons until it has absorbed all the yellow part of the skins, then put the sugar into a punch bowl; add the ingredients well together, pour over them the boiling water, stir well together; add the rum, brandy and nutmeg; mix thoroughly, and the punch will be ready to serve.

As we have before said, it is very important, in making good punch, that all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated; and, to insure success, the process of mixing must be diligently at tended to. Allow a quart for four persons; but this information must be taken cum grano salis; for the capacities of persons for this kind of beverage are generally supposed to vary considerably.

-Dr. Ron A. Ñejo

When studying the history of a country, some scholars undoubtedly head to the libraries, to read and re-read manuscripts of yesteryear. I, on the other hand, prefer to start by exploring the culinary and mixological legacy of the bygone eras: I head to the bars and pubs!

Early colonial America was a constantly changing landscape. The recipes for their contemporary cookery and drinkery are a window into that time.

Join me as I journey through the best of what has survived, as I explore the drinks that forged and survived the growth of the American nation.