Regent Punch
I love cocktails during the holiday. Okay, I love cocktails all year long, but they’re usually extra special during the holidays. This is the time that eggnog, champagne and punches all come out to play. They’re more filling and definitely more festive. I like serving these festive drinks because they usually only come out during special occasions and they always make everyone smile.
While champagne is always my first choice, it’s tough to make a big batch of something with champagne in it because you run the risk of whatever you’re serving going flat. That means you could be popping and pouring all night long which is never ideal. Personally, I like to mingle with my guests when I’m hosting a party. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind pouring the occasional drink for a friend, but I’d rather be socializing than stuck behind the bar. It’s for that reason and no other that I always try and serve a punch when hosting a party, holiday or otherwise.
This Regent Punch from the 1879 Housekeeping in Old Virginia is the perfect example. Housekeeping is a great old (very old) book with recipes for everything from breads and meats to coffee and cocktails. What I love about this book is that it contains all classic recipes from women who lived in 1879. It’s really interesting to read how women of that age created food and drink for themselves and their families. It’s amazing how much recipes have changed over the decades. Lard was used frequently in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as were ingredients like mutton and root vegetables. But what I found the most interesting about this book were the measurements. See, today we use cups and teaspoons, whereas a lot of the recipes in this book use pounds and quarts. I can’t tell you how many of the recipes called for 2 or more pounds of sugar. Can you imagine? 2 pounds of sugar. That’s going to be one sweet treat.
It was the same with this recipe. All the rest of the measurements I could get behind. I mean, a pint of orange juice or bourbon is understandable when you’re making a punch to serve dozens. But 2 pounds of sugar? (No, I’m not kidding.) That’s going to lead to one serious hangover, not to mention a drink that’s so sweet, it’ll be undrinkable. So, as with most of the recipes in this book, it needed to be altered to serve today’s palates. And that’s exactly what I did: I changed those 2 pounds of sugar to just 1 cup. But that was the only alteration I made. The rest of it was perfect just the way it was, especially since it called for brandy, rum and that holiday classic, champagne. Now, I know I said champagne in large portions wouldn’t be the best idea because it would probably go flat before the festivities were over. But if you add the champagne 15 minutes before your guests arrive, your punch should be bubbly for at least a couple hours. Add ice and oranges and this delightful punch will make a wonderful addition to any holiday table or party.
Notes
Adapted from Housekeeping in Old Virginia
Ingredients
- 1 pint of strong black tea
- 1 cup of sugar
- juice of six lemons
- juice of six oranges
- one pint of brandy
- one pint of rum
- 2 bottles of champagne
Instructions
- Take the rind of four lemons and slice very thinly. Add the rinds to the tea and let steep for an hour or so. Strain the tea into a large bowl.
- Mix the juice from the lemons and oranges, brandy and rum into the tea. Place the liquid in the fridge and chill for at least two hours and up to overnight.
- About 15 minutes before serving, pour the punch into a punch bowl and stir in the champagne.
- Right before the guests add several orange slices and large ice cubes to the bowl and serve.
