December 18, 2007

Holiday Rum Punch Recipe

When most people think 'punch,' they think 'fruit,' 'Hawaiian,' or '...and Judy.' Even if they think of an alcoholic punch, they probably think of another drink that's just been spiked. This doesn't have to be the case, though. In fact, punch can be a combination of festive, boozy, and tasty that can take your holiday party to the next level. We've found a great example of a delicious punch recipe over at Esquire, and we recommend you blow your friends away by making it for your holiday party.

Ingredients:
4 lemons

1 cup demerara sugar or Sugar in the Raw

4 tea bags

1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, strained

2 1/2 cups cognac

1 1/2 cups dark rum

Fresh nutmeg

Procedure:

1. The day before your punch party, place a 2-quart bowl of water in the freezer.

2. Using a vegetable peeler, skin 4 lemons, avoiding the white pith, and put the peels in a large heatproof bowl.

3. Add 1 cup demerara sugar or Sugar in the Raw and, using a wooden muddler, mash the sugar and the peels together. This will infuse the sugar with lemon oil.

4. Bring a quart of water to a boil, remove it from the heat, and add 4 tea bags. (English breakfast works well.)

5. After 5 minutes, remove the tea bags and pour the tea onto the sugar and peels. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

6. Add 1 cup fresh-squeezed, strained lemon juice.

7. Add 2 1/2 cups good cognac, such as Pierre Ferrand Ambre or Martell Noblige, and 1 1/2 cups dark, full-bodied rum, such as Coruba or -- even better -- Batavia Arrack van Oosten (a particularly funky Indonesian species of rum that was highly prized back in the day).

8. Stir well and let cool in the refrigerator for an hour or so.

9. To serve, pour the punch into an ornamental china bowl, slip in your block of ice, grate fresh nutmeg over the top, and dish the nectar forth with your silver punch ladle (bought on credit, naturally).

from Esquire