Book Review: Punch - the Delights of the Flowing Bowl

Where did cocktails emerge from? To find out, David Wondrich takes us back to the proto-cocktail - punch.

Distilled spirits became available for public consumption near the end of the 14th century, having previously been restricted to the domain of alchemists, apothecaries, and monks. However, early distilled spirits were often of poor quality - distillation techniques had not been refined, which meant that significant quantities of volatile chemicals like methanol and acetone, as well as heavier fusil oils remained in the final products. These spirits were rather harsh to drink on their own - remaining primarily a method for getting drunk, fast, and producing an absolutely atrocious hangover the next morning. While there were often tinctures made by soaking herbs and spices in spirits, as the higher proof allowed for greater extraction than fermented wine or beer, these were primarily seen as medical products, not a tipple to enjoy of an evening.

However, a new use was found for spirits due the burgeoning international trade beginning to flow into Europe at the end of the 17th century. Most importantly, trade with with Asia was expanding - the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was in its heyday and the British East India Company was growing as well. This meant that exotic spices and fruits were becoming more common in Europe, especially in the hands of the upper classes. This set the stage for the creation of punch.

Wondrich takes the reader through the pre-history of punch, then goes on to describe how it evolved over the centuries, trickling down to be the drink of more common men as well as the upper classes. Read about how much punch George Washington budgeted for serving to constituents while running for the Virginia House of Burgesses or how the coffee house culture of Enlightenment London was turned on to punch, sparking drunken discussions (and brawls) between some of the most notable men of the day. Punch was ascendent for almost two centuries until it was overtaken in the 19th century by the American innovation of the cocktail - a small, personal, bracing punch that could be drunk quickly instead of sitting with ones compatriots around the flowing bowl.

Throughout the book, there are recipes in their original state, which are also translated into more comprehensible modern measurements. Punch-making details are provided, such as how to make a proper oleo-saccrum (extracting citrus oils into sugar). This is a fantastic read, making a rather esoteric subject entertaining and enthralling. I highly recommend this book, especially for those of a booze nerd-y disposition.

Bombay Presidency Punch (adapted from David Wondrich)
1 oz Batavia arrack
0.5 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican rum
0.5 oz cognac
0.5 oz lime juice
1 oz palm sugar syrup (1:1)
1-2 oz soda water

Build over ice. Stir to combine and dust a little nutmeg on top.

The sip begins with mild sweetness, which carries through in balance with the lime. The funky notes of arrack and rum are smoothed out a bit by the cognac, while the soda water provides a bit of snap. Over time, the nutmeg filters into the drink.

This is possibly the ur-punch, being composed of ingredients that would have been available to members of the British East India Company stationed at their fortress in Bombay. The original version was made exclusively with Batavia arrack along with nutmeg from the Dutch East Indies, as well as locally-souced limes and palm sugar. However, splitting the base spirit with strong Jamaican rum and mellow cognac gives it even more depth. The soda water isn't really in keeping with the original (soda water wasn't invented until the late 18th century), but I find it adds a nice something to the drink that you won't get with less fizzy water. This punch is quite a crowd-pleaser - I've served it to people ranging from members of my lab to my own family and friends, always with great results.

Cocktail Camp PDX, Part II

Now for Part II in my set of posts about Cocktail Camp PDX.

The Lunchtime Social Hour was run by New Deal Distillery. There were a handful of cocktails being made, but I only got a chance to try one:

Ginger Fizzle
1 oz New Deal Ginger Liqueur
0.75 oz rye whiskey
0.75 oz lemon juice
1 oz dry sparkling wine

Combine all ingredients except for the wine, shake with ice, then strain into a chilled glass and top with the sparkling wine and a dash of Angostura bitters.

The nose presented the sparkling wine, a hint of rye, the spice of the bitters and a bit of vegetal ginger. The sip opened with bitters, sour lemon and ginger, the sparkling wine coming in mid-palate, finishing with the ginger bite, with a fruity note that reminded me of pineapple weaving through it all. Overall a decent drink, but it just didn't quite come together for me. Which is a shame, because I like the set of ingredients, but I might have to tweak the proportions to make something that will fit my tastes.


The first talk of the afternoon was the Perfect Host, presented by Morgan Schick of Jupiter Olympus, a cocktail consulting and events company. This was designed to give people a sense of how to put together a cocktail party and build a menu with sufficient breadth to keep people interested, but not so broad that it's impossible to have every single ingredient on hand. One way to deal with this is to stick to the basics - drinks like Manhattans, Gimlets, Martinis and the like can all be made with a handful of ingredients, many of which will pull double- or triple-duty, allowing you to make a decent number of drinks without a huge back bar. Additionally, by introducing only a few other elements - homemade syrups, some simple infusions - you can generate new and interesting twists on those drinks without greatly expanding the number of necessary ingredients.

A Manhattan variation, the 17,000 (the number of islands in Indonesia, where Batavia arrack comes from), was served during the Perfect Host talk:

2 oz bourbon
1 bar spoon Batavia arrack
1 oz sweet vermouth

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice and strain into a glass

Sadly this one just didn't do much for me. Admittedly, that's largely due to the fact that Manhattan-style drinks just seem too bitter, but I felt like the arrack wasn't balancing well with the other ingredients. I'm tempted to play around with it on my own, but it seems like a tricky one to get right.


The Afternoon Social Hour was sponsored by Campari, which meant that all of the cocktails a) contained Campari and b) were designed to be aperitifs. The first one I tried was a relatively spicy number by David Shenaut:

The Souracher
0.75 oz 100-proof rye whiskey
0.75 oz Campari
0.75 oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
0.75 oz lime juice

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, strain into an ice-filled Collins glass and top with ginger beer.

This one just didn't quite tickle my fancy. Mostly ginger and vermouth on the nose. The taste led off with some sweetness from the ginger beer, creamy lime mid-palate, and finished with bitterness from the vermouth and Campari mixed with the grainy spice of the rye. The flavors felt a bit muddled, though they integrated a bit better after some of the ice had melted. As with the Ginger Fizzle, I felt like there was a good drink inside it, but it needs some tweaking to really fit my tastes.

After the Souracher, I sipped a drink from Allison Webber that rescued an otherwise somewhat lackluster set of cocktails:

Belle Époque
1 oz Campari
1 oz Spanish brandy
0.5 oz Palo Cortado sherry
0.5 oz Dolin Blanc vermouth

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

This was a seriously good drink. The nose was sweet and spicy, with big fruit and vanilla - overall a fantastic sweet/savory balance. The sip was a reprise of the smells, in the same order, with a bitter, slightly salty finish. Given how heavy it was on bitter aperitif-oriented spirits, it came together with shockingly good balance. Every element had its place, presenting itself and then making way for the next piece. My mouth waters just to think about having another one of these cocktails.


The last talk of the day was an Introduction to Aperitifs, presented by Neil Kopplin of Imbue Vermouth and Tony Devencenzi of Bourbon & Branch. The talk began with a small history of aperitifs. Their historical antecedents go back to the medicinal tinctures that had been created since time immemorial from herbs and spices steeped in alcoholic beverages. Their definite beginning came with the invention of vermouth in 1786 by the Italian merchant Antonio Benedetto Carpano. Carpano soaked a mixtures of herbs and spices in white wine, then dyed it a deep red. This was what would come to be known as sweet or Italian vermouth. The drink became popular and a few decades later, at the beginning of the 19th century, the Frenchman Joseph Noilly created a pale, drier variety of vermouth that we know now as dry or French vermouth.

Another class of aperitifs are known as quinquinas, originating with Joseph Dubonnet in 1846. Dubonnet's drink was developed as a delivery method for the malaria-fighting bark of the South American chinchona tree, which contains quinine. These aperitifs have a particular quality of bitterness that it different than that found in vermouths. Other bitter aperitifs emerged over time, such as Campari, Aperol and amari bitter liqueurs like fernet, Cynar or Jägermeister.

What all of these drinks have in common is a bitterness that makes them good to drink before a meal. This is because the brain associates bitter flavors with poison, which stimulates the salivary glands in an attempt to dilute the ingested compounds. In the case of aperitifs, this helps to prepare the mouth for the meal to come. Additionally, aperitifs usually have a fairly low proof around 20-30% ABV. This makes them relatively light on their own and even more so when lengthened with soda water or other non-alcoholic drinks. As Neil put it, this makes them 'sessionable' as you can spend time drinking them without becoming significantly intoxicated.

Neil talked a bit about the creation of his own aperitif, Imbue bittersweet vermouth. This is another one of those Oregon products that came about because people were sitting around drinking and decided that they wanted to make something new and interesting with all of the great materials that this state has to provide. After a lot of experimentation, they came up with a vermouth that is somewhere in between a sweeter traditional blanc vermouth and dry vermouth, which is more bitter. I got to try some mixed with ginger beer and a dash of Angostura bitter. The results were pretty tasty. I'll be picking up a bottle once I've gotten through my current bottle of sweet vermouth.


Overall I really enjoyed Cocktail Camp. I got to learn a lot and drink some very tasty drinks. I'm looking forward to seeing what the event looks like next year.

Another Milestone - 100th Post

Coming close on the heels of the second anniversary of my blog, this is the 100th post. In honor of that, I figured it'd be a good time to break out some of Haus Alpenz's newest prodcut, Kronan Swedish Punch, for an appropriately named cocktail:

Hundred Per Cent Cocktail
1.5 oz Swedish Punch
0.375 oz lemon juice
0.375 oz orange juice
0.5 tsp grenadine

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

First, a little bit about Swedish Punch. This is a liqueur that has been popular in Sweden since the days when the Swedish East India Company's ships plied the seas, bringing back exotic ingredients like Batavaia arrack, tea and spices. Dipping into their stocks during long voyages, the sailors would mix those ingredients up into a tasty punch that was eventually turned into a pre-made drink. While traditionally drunk warm with pea soup, it eventually found its way into cocktails. Prohibition squashed many classic cocktails and Swedish Punch was one victim. Thankfully it's back and ready for use in those classic drinks.

The Hundred Per Cent Cocktail's nose presents some funky notes of arrack and rum, with a hint of smoke from the tea and a bit of fruitiness from the juices. Much like Erik over at Savoy Stomp, I found this drink to be less sweet than I expected it to be. The fruit is front and center, coming in strong with just a bit of sweetness from the liqueur and syrup. Further back the other elements of the liqueur assert themselves, bringing that delightful funk that both spirituous components of the Swedish Punch contain. The drink finishes smoothly, with a lingering taste of tea and fruit.

Overall this cocktail reminders me of a more complex Amaretto Stone Sour. However the Swedish Punch is significantly less sweet than amaretto, so it doesn't need as much citrus for balance. I can envision punching up this drink a bit with some Batavia arrack or Jamaican rum, but in that case some of the lovely tea flavor would be lost. I'm pretty pleased with this cocktail and looking forward to making more drinks with the Kronan. Last but not least, here's to many more posts.

Further Adventures with Arrack

Batavia arrack is a rather peculiar spirit that I first talked about last spring. While it can be a bit hard to use to good effect in cocktails due to its strong flavors, with the right combinations of ingredients it can be harnessed to produce delicious drinks.

Atalanta

1 oz Batavia Arrack
1 oz Laird's Bonded applejack
0.25 oz St. Elizabeth's allspice dram
0.75 oz lemon juice
0.5 oz grapefruit juice
0.5 oz demerara syrup
1 pinch nutmeg

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice and pour unstrained into a chilled glass.

For a drink that looks both very stiff (the arrack and applejack are both 100 proof) and with lots of strong, potentially clashing flavors, this drink turns out to be quite pleasant and almost subdued. Don't shake too hard, because you don't want this kind of deliciousness to get tepid. The nose and initial tastes are mostly the arrack's funk, though it's not beating you about the head. The applejack provides a pleasant, whiskey-like base and subdued fruitiness. The lemon and grapefruit juices give the drink a bit of snap and bitterness to counteract the rich sweetness of the demerara syrup. Finally, the allspice dram gives the drink a delightful spiciness that wraps around the other flavors in the drink. As is, this is a great drink to sit and sip over the course of a warm evening. Minus the fruit juices, it could even become a pretty good hot winter drink.

Javanese Crusta
1.5 oz Batavia arrack
0.35 oz lime juice
0.25 oz cinnamon syrup
0.25 oz orgeat
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass with a large strip of lime peel.

This drink is a variant of the classic Brandy Crusta from Frederic over at Cocktail Virgin Slut. The nose of this drink blends a hefty dose of lime oil from the peel with a touch of hogo from the arrack, the subtle nuttiness of the orgeat and the spice notes of the bitters and cinnamon syrup. The taste reprises these elements, but with a definite order. Less sweet up front than I would have expected, the arrack and lime attack mid-palate, fading into the nut/spice interplay of the syrups and bitters. The gentleness of this drink is rather surprising given the robust hate it/love it nature of Batavia arrack, but the other ingredients do a good job of tying it down into something quite enjoyable.

Montils Tiki

It's been warming up a bit here in Portland, even if I have to be thankful that most of the summer has been blessedly cool. So once again I turn towards tiki. Just to mix things up a bit, I also decided to play with one of the lesser-used spirits on my shelf, cognac.

Colombard Cooler
1 oz Hardy VS cognac
0.5 oz Batavia Arrack
0.5 oz lemon juice
0.5 oz grapefruit juice
0.25 oz cinnamon syrup
0.25 oz simple syrup

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

A fairly simple drink, but the flavors all play well together. The brandy base provides wine and oak flavors that the funk of the arrack and the cinnamon spice dance around. The lemon and grapefruit juices give the drink a bit of snap so everything balances out nicely. A fine drink for a summer evening.

Mixology Monday LVIII: Niche Spirits

It's time for Mixology Monday again and this time the goal is to highlight a drink made with uncommon spirits. So for once I have to stray from the path of rum, whiskey and gin. While pondering what I should make, I remembered a drink that I had a few weeks ago at The Victory Bar. The Happy Jack was pretty good as they made it, but I immediately thought of ways that I could tweak the original recipe. The drink contains applejack, lemon juice, grenadine and allspice dram. Already a solid base, but  a couple of tweaks on the base spirit could make things more interesting. A little while ago I mentioned how interesting Batavia Arrack is and how it has a fairly strong affinity for fruit. Splitting the base spirit between Laird's Applejack, Clear Creek apple brandy and Batavia Arrack made for a complex, layered cocktail that really hits the spot.

Happy 'Rack
1 oz Clear Creek Apple Brandy
0.5 oz Laird's Bonded Applejack
0.5 oz Batavia Arrack
0.75 oz lemon juice
0.25 oz grenadine
0.25 oz Allspice Dram
0.25 oz simple syrup (optional)

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. For an optional garnish, grate a little nutmeg onto the top of the drink.

There is a lot going on in this drink. Arrack dominates the nose, while balancing itself with the whiskey-ish flavor of Laird's on the initial sip. The apple brandy provides a solid, fruity base along with the grenadine while the lemon juice gives the drink a bit of zip and the St. Liz spices everything up. A fine drink to sit and sip on a warm but overcast day like today.

The Island of Misfit Rums

While rums are traditionally thought of in terms of their country of origin, there are some that defy simple classification.

Banks Five Island Rum

If one was going to be a little more precise, this would actually be "Banks Four Islands and Part of a Continental Landmass Rum", but that doesn't have the same ring to it. Instead of sourcing their rum from one particular part of the Caribbean, the blenders behind this rum decided to put together rums from Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana. Included in the blend is their "special ingredient", Batavia arrack from the island of Java. The five spirits are all aged from three to twelve years, blended together and then charcoal filtered to strip color from the spirit and produce a crystal clear white rum. Whether it's a matter of the rums they selected to go into the blend or a feature of the filtration method, this is a very crisp, dry spirit, without a lot of the caramel sweetness one usually finds in aged rums. What is there is lots of wonderful hogo, likely coming from the Jamaican rum and Batavaia arrack. What sweetness there is seems to be more of a morass of tropical fruits.

While Banks makes for a delightfully complex daiquiri, it can also be used to give more complex potions a bit of zip and funk.

South Caribbean Sunrise
0.75 oz Banks Five Island Rum
0.75 oz light Demerara rum (El Dorado 3-year)
0.5 oz light Puerto Rican rum (Flor de Caña Extra Dry)
0.5 oz lime juice
0.5 oz orange juice
0.5 oz honey syrup
0.25 oz falernum

Combine all ingredients and blend for five seconds with a small handful of ice. Pour into a glass with more crushed ice.

This is a relatively light drink, with two out of the three rums providing a supporting role while the Banks provides a stiffer backbone. Mild fruitiness from the lime and orange juice is backed up by the smooth sweetness of honey and a touch of spice from the falernum. Overall a rather pleasant drink with ingredients that won't break the bank.


Batavia Arrack van Oosten

While there are those who argue that arrack isn't properly rum, if it's not it's at least the crazy cousin who you're not sure you want to hang around at first, but who turns out to be utterly fascinating in the right situations.

Batavia Arrack has a long history, proceeding the Dutch colony that gave the city of Jakarta its former name. Sugar cane from South Asia and distillation techniques from China met on the island of Java and were combined to produce the original spirit. In addition to a local variety of yeast that is used in the fermentation, a small amount of red rice is added, which contributes to the spirit's unique palette of flavors and smells.

While arrack has a fairly long history in punches and cocktails, it fell out of favor and was nigh impossible to find outside of northern Europe, where it remained in limited use in chocolates and Swedish Punch. We can thank the estimable Eric Seed of Haus Alpenz for returning this unique spirit to American shores.

This is a rather potent spirit at 100-proof, which combined with its face-punch of flavor means that it's not really designed for straight sipping. Some of this is due to the fact that the spirit is essentially un-aged, with only a brief period spent resting in large teak vats before bottling. While some of the usual rum characteristics can be found within, the primary flavor is pure hogo. Dancing around that core are hints of brandy or wine that I suspect come from the red rice.

While arrack can be a difficult spirit to work with, it shines as an accent to other spirits and in punches. One of my favorites comes from David Wondrich's book on punches, the Ruby Punch. While originally made for a large-ish party, I've scaled it down to a single serving and tweaked one of the ingredients.

Tawny Punch
3 oz black tea (1 tsp steeped for ~3 min)
1 oz demerara syrup
1 bar spoon lemon tincture
1.5 oz lemon juice
1 oz Batavia Arrack
1 oz tawny port

Combine all ingredients, stir briefly and chill in the refrigerator or freezer until cool.

There are a lot of complex flavors playing around in this drink, but magically they all manage to balance each other perfectly. The port has a fruity sweetness that provides a base for the more complex flavors of the arrack and tea, with the lemon juice providing snap and the demerara syrup rounding out the entire drink. The ABV works out to somewhere around the mid-teens which makes this a wonderful cool drink to sip outside on a summer evening without blowing yourself away. The recipe can obviously be multiplied by the number of people you'd like to serve if you want to scale up to a full-blown punch.

If you'd like more recipes using Batavia Arrack, Haus Alpenz has a nice list.