by gillmang » Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:11 am
Exploring the sematic origins of punch may be of interest too, the term derives from a Hindi word I believe which meant a beverage of 4 or 5 ingredients. The British would have adopted, or adapted, the word for an alcoholic mixture and thence to America via the Colonial influx and trade.
Today you hear the term only rarely in a bibulous context, it died out rather abruptly after the Second World War, although traces remain.
I like punches which incorporate Champagne, it seems to give a festive and the final luxuriant/decadent touch to a riot of flavors and colours. Perhaps it is true to say I like the idea of punch more than punch itself. At the last SB Sampler, I offered a punch to all comers as a prelude to our Friday night dinner and received plaudits all round. The recipe was called Bourbon Punch and came from the Internet. It had a peach concentrate in it that gave a great flavour when combined with the bourbon (I used Very Old Barton in different proofs, kindly provided by SB-er Dave Gonano). I was worried how to handle the peach element until by pure chance, when having a coffee in a Timothy's behind a LCBO outlet in Toronto (local fine coffee chain), I saw a row of fruit extracts for sale under the Timothy name. They make them for addition to their coffees. They are made from natural ingredients and sugar and the peach one worked well in the punch. The other ingredients were Champagne (we used Californian which was fine), and orange juice and lemons, and I think that was it. It was very potent and most agreed it drank best on ice.
Gary