The London EDITION Hotel in the West End might be brand new, but the inspiration for Milk Punch—one of the most popular libations at The Punch Room, the in-house bar—has a story soaked in history.
“The inspiration for this drink came from what it is regarded to be the very first cocktail book ever written, Jerry Thomas’ Bartender Guide: How To Mix Drinks,” renowned barkeep Davide Segat, who created the drink, explains. “Back in the day, a bartender had to create new methods to transform or improve the low quality spirits he had into something people could enjoy. One of these amazing methods is exactly what we do with our milk punch. It’s quite time consuming we agree but the results are incredibly tasty.”
Tasty and versatile. According to Segat, the drink can be easily tweaked to be refreshing no matter what time of year it is.
“It involves spices, quite a lot of them, and has nothing is written in stone,” he says. “It can be quite fun to adjust the quantities of the recipes to match the cold or warm weather.”
Milk Punch
21 ounces, pineapple
6 cloves
Coriander seeds to taste
1/4 tbsp. allspice
1 piece, star anise
14 ounces, lemon shebert
7 ounces Arak
10 ounces Somerset Cider Brandy
10 ounces Cognac
7 ounces Blackwell’s rum
7 ounces Plantation Barbados rum
7 ounces green tea
28 ounces boiling water
28 ounces milk
2 ounces lemon juice
Muddle all spices and pineapple together in a large bow. Add all liquids except milk and lemon juice, adding hot water last. Let steep for six hours.
Once steeped, boil the milk, add the lemon juice and pour it into the rest of the batch. Strain through super bag to remove solids. Refrigerate, and let settle, then strain once more through a coffee filter. Serve over one large ice cube and garnish with a pineapple slice.
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