Swedish Punsch

Swedish Punsch is a cocktail ingredient that pops up every once and a while but is rare as rocking horse shit. Luckily the main ingredient, Batavia Arrack, is semi available now.

I've made two versions of so far. The first recipe I used was from Joe at Barkeeper in Silverlake. It was good and quite a bit more spicy. This one from the blog Underhill Lounge is more balanced. It's nice on its own chilled or used as an ingredient in a Volstead cocktail, my new favorite.

2 cups Appleton V/X Rum (I used Lemon Hart Demerara)
1 cup Batavia Arrack
2 cup hot extra strong spiced tea (4 tsp Peet's Yunnan Fancy Tea, 6 crushed cardamom pods, brewed in 2 cup water)
2 cup raw or natural sugar
2 Sorrento lemons sliced thinly, seeds removed

Put sliced lemons in a resealable non-reactive container large enough to hold 4 cups of liquid. Pour Rum and Batavia Arrack over citrus. Cover and steep for 6 hours.

Dissolve sugar in hot tea and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.

After 6 hours, pour rum off of sliced citrus, without squeezing fruit.

Combine tea syrup and flavored rum. Filter and bottle in a clean sealable container. Rest 24 hours and enjoy where Swedish Punch is called for.

Rain Killer

We've been stuck inside watching the rain beat against the windows. I took a short drive to take my son to the movies and the LA river is half full and the gutters are all the way full forcing traffic into the middle lanes. This weather makes me want a tiki drink!

I downloaded the Tiki+ app on my phone today for my inspiration. It was created by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (one of the cocktail bloggers I follow) and has about 150 tiki recipes.

½ oz fresh lime juice (I subbed lemon)
½ oz orange juice
½ oz pineapple juice
½ oz sugar syrup
1 ½ oz white Puerto Rican rum (can sub vodka, gin, bourbon, or brandy)
1 dash Angostura bitters (I subbed Peychaud's)
4 oz (½ cup) crushed ice

Put everything in a blender, saving crushed ice for last. Blend at high speed for no more than 5 seconds. Pour into a specialty glass. Garnish with a mint sprig and paper parasol.
From Steve Crane’s Kon-Tiki restaurant chain, circa 1962.

I tried this twice. Having run out of Angostura bitters ( I blame the Angostura shortage of 2009 - http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/06/angostura-bitters-shortage-shakes-up-cocktail-world/ ) I added 2 drops of allspice dram to the second attempt. The first one was great, the second one was totally greater.

Egg Nog

Yum! This is by far the best eggnog that I've ever had. Not that I'm an eggnog expert, but I'm planning on being one by the end of the holidays! Anyway, this one is from the Jeffrey Morgenthaler website.

2 large eggs
3 oz (by volume) granulated sugar
½ tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
2 oz brandy
2 oz spiced rum (I use Sailor Jerry’s)
6 oz whole milk
4 oz heavy cream

Beat eggs in blender for one minute on medium speed. Slowly add sugar and blend for one additional minute. With blender still running, add nutmeg, brandy, rum, milk and cream until combined. Chill thoroughly to allow flavors to combine and serve in chilled wine glasses or champagne coupes, grating additional nutmeg on top immediately before serving.

Cuba Kula

This one has no Campari.

2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz honey
1 oz orange juice
1 oz dark rum, the recipe calls for Myers but i used Coruba12
1 oz Lemon Hart demerara
1/2 oz Bacardi 151
Dash Angostura bitters
6 drops Herbsaint or Pernod

Dissolve the honey in the limejuice and then place it all in a shaker and shake with plenty of ice. Strain over highball with ice.

Añejo Highball

* 1 1/2 ounces añejo rum
* 1/2 ounce curaçao
* 1/4 ounce pimento dram
* 2 ounces Ginger Beer
* 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
* Lime Peel

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour the rum, curaçao, and ginger beer into a highball
glass with ice cubes.
2. Add the bitters, stir, and garnish with lime peel.

Arrack Punch

1oz Batavia arrack
1 1/2 oz dark rum
3 tsp demerara syrup or to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Over a piece of ice