Imperial Punch — The Cocktail Ontologist

Family

Variants (9)

Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks by William Terrington (1869, p.219) — Terrington 1869

2 lemons	lemon juice and peel	acid
2 oz	Cream of tartar	base
0.5 pint	pineapple rum — pine-apple rum	base
6 quarts	water	dilution

Combine the cream of tartar, lemon juice and peel, water, and pineapple rum and serve.

Its low spirit load and acidulated structure distinguish it from the richer grand punches nearby.

This reads almost like an imperial lemonade pushed into punch territory.

How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon-Vivant's Companion by Jerry Thomas (1876, p.31) — Jerry Thomas 1876

1 whole	claret — claret	base
1 whole	Soda water — soda-water	dilution
4 whole	Cucumber peel — cucumber rind	garnish
1 oz	Maraschino liqueur — maraschino	modifier
8 oz	ice — ice	other
1 tsp	nutmeg — grated nutmeg	other
4 tbsp	sugar — powdered white sugar	sweetener

Put all the ingredients into a bowl or pitcher.
Mix well and serve very cold.

Garnish: Cucumber rind

Ice: Cracked ice

Nose: Cucumber and cool claret rise first, with maraschino sweetness and nutmeg behind.
Palate: It is light, cooling, and gently aromatic rather than strongly spirit-driven.
Finish: The finish is clean, faintly vinous, and refreshing.
Summary: A punch that almost behaves like a claret cup, showing how fluid the borders between families remained.

Imperial Punch is valuable because it makes the overlap between cup and punch traditions unusually clear. Cucumber, claret, and soda are classic cup cues, yet Thomas frames the drink as a punch.

Cold service is essential. The cucumber should scent the drink without becoming dominant or vegetal.

This is one of the clearest examples of why family modelling matters more than rigid category labels. By chapter heading it is punch; by service grammar it leans heavily toward cup.

Cocktail Boothby's American Bar-Tender by Wm. T. Boothby (1891, p.54)

2 lime	lime juice — juice of two limes	acid
2 jigger	Whiskey — whiskey or cognac	base
	curacao — Curacoa	modifier
2 jigger	champagne — Used in equal quantity to the liquor.	other
1 tablespoonful	sugar	sweetener

Place the whiskey or cognac and a piece of ice in a punch goblet.
Stir sugar, lime juice, Curacoa, and an equal quantity of champagne in a mixing glass, pour into the goblet, stir again, and serve without decorations.

Ice: Egg-sized ice piece

This is a strong California checkpoint because Boothby frames it as a local celebrated beverage and insists on its no-water richness.

Equal-part sparkling-wine support and the rejection of extra water define the drink's identity.

Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler (1895, p.88) — George J. Kappeler 1895

2 thin slices	lemon — lemon	acid
1 tablespoon	sugar — fine sugar	base
	seltzer — seltzer	dilution
	fruit — fruit	garnish
0.5 pony	Maraschino — maraschino	modifier
2 jigger	claret — claret	other
	ice — fine ice	other
	nutmeg — nutmeg	other

Dissolve the sugar in a mixing-glass with a little water.
Add the claret, maraschino, nutmeg, lemon, and fine ice, then add a squirt of seltzer and mix well.
Trim with fruit and serve with straws.

Garnish: Fruit

Ice: Fine ice

The American Bar-Tender by R. C. Miller (1895, p.23) — R. C. Miller 1895

1 bottle	claret — claret	base
1 bottle	Soda water — soda-water	dilution
4 whole	Cucumber — cucumber rind	garnish
1 liqueur glass	Maraschino liqueur — maraschino	modifier
0.5 lb	ice — ice	other
1 tsp	nutmeg — grated nutmeg	other
4 tbsp	sugar — powdered white sugar	sweetener

Put all the ingredients into a bowl or pitcher.
Mix well and serve cold.

Garnish: Cucumber rind

Ice: About half a pound of ice

Nose: Claret, cucumber, and maraschino give the drink a cool aromatic profile unlike the citrus-heavier punches nearby.
Palate: This is lighter and more aromatic than a spirit punch, with cucumber providing an unexpectedly elegant green freshness against the red wine and liqueur.
Finish: The finish is chilled, gently spiced, and faintly floral-fruity.
Summary: A refined wine punch that uses cucumber as a serious aromatic device, not just a garnish.

The cucumber rind is historically valuable because it shows nineteenth-century bartenders already exploiting the cooling green aromatic idea that later drink culture often treats as much newer.

The cucumber should perfume the drink rather than dominate it. This is a bowl punch with a delicate aromatic accent.

The Hoffman House Bartender's Guide by Charles S. Mahoney (1905, p.182)

1 bottle	claret	base
1 bottle	Soda water	dilution
3 slices	Cucumber rind	garnish
1 liqueur glass	Maraschino — Maraschino	modifier
0.5 pound	ice — About one-half pound ice.	other
0.25 teaspoonful	nutmeg — grated nutmeg	other
4 tablespoonfuls	powdered sugar — Dissolve in a little of the soda.	sweetener

Dissolve the powdered sugar in a little of the soda water.
Put all ingredients in a pitcher, mix well, and serve cold.

Garnish: Cucumber rind

Ice: Block ice

Bartenders' Guide: How to Mix Drinks by Wehman Bros. (1912, p.50)

1 bottle	claret — Claret	base
1 bottle	Soda water — Soda water	dilution
4 slice	Cucumber — Cucumber rind	garnish
1 liqueur glass	Maraschino liqueur — Maraschino	modifier
0.5 pound	ice — Ice	other
0.25 teaspoon	nutmeg — Nutmeg	other
4 tablespoon	sugar — Powdered white sugar	sweetener

Dissolve the sugar in a little soda water, put all the ingredients into a pitcher, mix well, and serve.

Bartenders' Manual by Bartenders Association of America (1913, p.32)

1 bottle	claret — Claret	base
1 bottle	Soda water — Soda water	dilution
3 slice	Cucumber rind — Cucumber rind	garnish
1 liqueur glass	Maraschino liqueur — Maraschino	modifier
0.5 pound	ice — Ice	other
0.25 teaspoon	nutmeg — Grated nutmeg	other
4 teaspoon	powdered sugar — Powdered sugar	sweetener

Put all ingredients in a pitcher and mix well.

Ice: Ice

Cheerio! A Book of Punches and Cocktails by Charles (1928, p.41)

1 bottle	claret	base
1 bottle	Soda water	dilution
3.5 slices	Cucumber rind — Three or four slices.	garnish
1 liqueur glass	Maraschino — Maraschino	modifier
0.25 teaspoonful	grated nutmeg	other
	ice — A few large lumps.	other
4 tablespoonfuls	powdered sugar	sweetener

Pour the claret, soda water, powdered sugar, grated nutmeg, and Maraschino into a large pitcher.
Add a few large lumps of ice and three or four slices of cucumber rind, mix well, and serve.

Garnish: Slices of cucumber rind.

Ice: A few large lumps of ice

Related recipes

Claret Cup same-family

See also: Claret Punch, Claret Cup A La Henry VIII

Source gives this as a one-quart mixture.