Chatham Artillery Punch

Courtesy of my great-grandfather. This is wicked strong, but goes down easy. It's one of those drinks where there's no way-station between the exhilarating flush of your first glass and blacking out. The base keeps indefinitely and even improves with age. I made it for a party once at which the whole recipe got drunk well before 3 am. There were about 200 people there, though.

Chatham Artillery Punch

1 lb. gunpowder green tea
2 gallons cold water
3 gallons catawba wine, or substiture Sauternes (I didn't say this was going to be cheap)
1 gallon St. Croix rum
1 gallon Hennessy brandy
1 gallon rye whiskey
1 gallon gin
5 lbs brown sugar
2 qts. cherries
juice of 2 dozen oranges
juice of 2 dozen lemons

Let the tea stand overnight in the water. Strain. Mix juices, cherries and tea (preferably in a cedar tub)*. Add sugar and booze and stir. Let sit about one week, covered; then strain out cherries. Just before serving, mix over blocks of ice with 12 quarts dry champagne.

*No, I don't have a cedar tub either. It has ocurred to me that you could put in a few clean cedar shingles of the type one can make planked salmon on; they sell those in kitcheny stores sometimes. I've only made this a few times and never tried that, though.

Below the fold, more tasty drink recipes.

Maharajah's Burrah-Peg

Into largest chilled goblet, 14 to 16 oz, rimmed with powdered sugar, put 2 jiggers cognac, 1 lump sugar, 1 dash angostura bitters. Fill to the top with dry champagne; garnish with a spiral of lime peel.

Ile-de-France Special

Into large champagne glass put 1/2 t fine sugar, 2 dashes orange bitters, 1/2 pony cognac. Fill with dry champagne topped with a few dashes sauternes.

Those two are quite similar, and tasty. The truth is, I prefer sweeter champagne, like a extra dry or even demi-sec, rather than brut, and adding sugar to the drink approximates this. I have always wanted to make Ratifià, but I have never had 1000 peaches or the will to pit them. I'm afraid this is one of those drinks that reuire chattel slavery to produce.

Mrs. A.H. Mazyck's Ratifià (c. 1830), from Charleston Receipts

Take 1 gallon best brandy, 1 quart madiera wine, 1 quart muscat wine, 1 pint orange-flower water, 3 pounds loaf sugar, 1 pint rose water, 1000 peach kernels. Put in a crock and keep in the sun for 4 or 5 weeks.

Comments

[Carlos]

There are versions of ratafia that use almonds instead of peach pits. A whole lot of bruised bitter almonds. I'm not sure what one is supposed to do with them afterwards. Roast, grind, and marzipan forever?

Both peach pits and bitter almonds are cyanogenic. Probably why you don't see much ratafia anymore.

[Richard]

One gallon of whiskey? Jesus.

Even just reading the recipe list for the punch is giving me a hangover...

[Jeremy Osner]

Do you rough up the cherries at all before putting them in the punch?

[belle]

Carlos: yeah, I sort of remembered there was a cyanide issue here. Jeremy: yes, I smush them around a little first.

[liZ]

I once went to a cavalry ball at Fort Knox--this recipe reminds me of the "cavalry punch" wherein large containers of alcohol were decapitated with the ceremonial sword, then poured into this giant silver vat, all the while reciting the history of the regiment.

It was a damn fine party. I also got to dance with some dashing cavalrymen, AND teach them how not to trip over the (ceremonial) spurs (hint: most cowboys are bowlegged and pigeontoed.)

I've never had catawba wine--what does it taste like?

[Guruchel]

myfreepaysite members private message

[Harlan Hale]

Thanks Belle, you're dad gave me this recipie many years ago but I lost it. I've been wanting to make this for a party in Pretoria. I think it should go down just fine.

[belle waring]

awesome, hi Harlan!!

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