How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon-Vivant's Companion by Jerry Thomas (1876, p.35) — Another Method
| 6 whole | lemon — lemons | acid |
| 32 oz | arrack — old Batavia arrack | base |
| 32 oz | water — boiling water | dilution |
| 16 oz | sugar — loaf sugar | sweetener |
- Steep the sliced lemons in the Batavia arrack for six hours.
- Remove the lemon without squeezing.
- Dissolve the loaf sugar in boiling water and add the hot solution to the arrack.
- Let the mixture stand until cool.
- Use the result as a liqueur.
- Nose
- Lemon oil and arrack rise in a concentrated aromatic wave.
- Palate
- It is richer and more liqueur-like than the main Arrack Punch, with macerated citrus oils and sweetness giving the spirit a more polished contour.
- Finish
- The finish is perfumed, sweet, and persistent.
- Summary
- A fascinating hybrid of punch, maceration, and liqueur preparation that blurs category boundaries.
This alternate method matters because Thomas effectively shifts arrack punch from bowl drink toward bottled cordial or liqueur. It is one of those recipes that makes the ontology's boundaries between punch, cordial, and preserved spirit intentionally porous.
Not squeezing the lemons after steeping is important, as it limits harsh bitterness. The drink should be thought of as a macerated spirit preparation as much as a punch.
Compared with the first Arrack Punch, this is less a communal bowl formula than a concentrated preserved essence of the same flavour world. It reveals how one drink name can span very different service forms.