Mississippi Punch – Jerry Thomas

One wineglass of Brandy

One half wineglass of Jamaica Rum

One half wineglass of Bourbon whiskey

One half wineglass of water

One and a half tablespoons of powdered white sugar

One quarter of a large lemon

Fill a tumbler with shaved ice

The above must be well shaken, and to those who like their draughts “like linked sweetness long drawn out” let them use a glass tube or straw to sip the nectar through. The top of this punch should be ornamented with small pieces of orange, and berries in season.

Punches form the first drinks chapter in Jerry Thomas’ book, they were obviously very important to the age, and its nice to see that they lasted in popularity a good few hundred years.

I had some time this afternoon before a private cocktail class, and wanted something a little longer to drink while watching the rugby in our main bar upstairs. Looking at the ingredients it’s a mix of all nationalities, and a lot of them. There’s some confusion over exactly how much was the wineglass Jerry refers to, this could be anywhere from a double to a quadruple, if the latter, then this has 8 single shots of alcohol in a drink for one.

And we think we know how to party.

I went for the smaller measure, so still 4 singles in a glass, and expected it to knock me around a little, and to be a bit overpowering. It wasn’t. it works well as a drink, does not taste to strong, which I think is down to the water and shaved ice, and is very refreshing. I found it super easy to drink and didn’t really notice the effects as much as the recipe suggested I would.

This is a great spring / summers drink.