The Return of the Flowing Bowl
One of the great joys of drinking for a living is that every once in a while you get an opportunity to experience a remarkable technicolor dream with THX sound and a stellar ensemble cast.
No. We were not drinking too many absinthe-laced concoctions on an empty-stomach. We did not have to pitch ourselves awake or stand in a pool of ice-water to return to reality. We spent early October teaching a master class in cocktail history on the idyllic Ile de Bendor in southern France. (Imagine living on the set of the 1960s British cult-classic TV series The Prisoner for a week without the Rover. Splendid.)
This privately-owned island is the home of the newly-established International Bar Business School. And we were the inaugural course. (gulp!)
The star-studded assembly that arrived for the first of the two sessions included the creme de la creme of the cocktail world: Robert Hess (drinkboy.com), Ted Haigh (cocktaildb.com), Sasha Petraske (Milk & Honey), Ricardo Sporkslede (Fabulous Shaker Boys), Mauro Mahjoub, Beate Hindemann (Victoria Bar), Fernando Castellon (barexpertise.com), Helmut Adam and Jens Hasenbein (Mixology magazine), Simon Difford (DiffordGuides), Nick Blacknell (Beefeater Gin), LeNell Smothers (LeNell's Ltd), plus Henry Besant and Dre Masso (Worldwide Cocktail Club). Enough about who was there. That's not what I'm here to talk about.
Now that November is upon us--that wonderful time when people gather to make merry over cocktails and insane amounts of rich food as we near closer to Christmas and New Year's--I want to discuss punches with you.
Punch (aka: the flowing bowl) should probably be at the top of your drinks list if you are hosting a party over the next few weeks. Why? Because the sight of welcoming, festive bowl of punch makes guests feel just that--welcome. Because punch keeps you from the spending the entire night shaking, stirring, and muddling until your rotator cuff gives out. Because punch has dozens of variations. You can make it with a wine base, a gin base, a bourbon base...
Because unlike any other libation, punch is meant to be shared.
Now one member of the Ile de Bendor ensemble is the undisputed a master of punch--Nick Strangeway. Currently the general manger at The Hawksmoor in London, Nick serves up punches in vintage bowls and accompanying cups ranging in style from peachy fiesta ware to cut glass to hob nail glass. (Beware when this man gets on eBay!)
We had our first opportunity to sample his punches after watching a World Cup Game at The Hawksmoor this past June. Yummy on a warm afternoon. We even sampled a few more about two weeks ago at the sign-off party for the Beefeater gin symposium, where the conversation flowed well past midnight even though we had all been out and about discussing and sampling gin since 9 AM.
But it was the punch that Nick invented on Ile de Bendor that truly warmed our hearts. To begin with, Nick led the ensemble to the beach close to sunset, narrating a tale about a fated passenger ship laden with exotic fruits and libations that had encountered an iceberg.
There on the beach laid a large block of ice set into a punch bowl, surrounded by lovely fresh fruits. As the story continued, Nick made the punch, enlisting Jared for the final touch--a bottle of champagne was sabered and poured into the bowl. When the cups ran out, Nick's team did a serious sharing of the bowl.
What was the name of this lovely libation?
Vanity Fair Punch
5 parts apricot brandy
50 parts gin
15 parts gin infused with raisins and dates
35 parts champagne
5 parts Suze
20 parts fresh lemon juice
10 parts orange curaçao
10 parts gomme syrup
25 parts Lillet Rouge
Angostura and orange bitters
Blend all in a punch bowl filled with a block of ice. Garnish with fruits including exotic plums.
Another punch that crossed our lips was one that we reintroduced to attendees at the Beefeater gin symposium during our lost gin cocktails lecture--a punch created by Alexis Benoit Soyer, a famous French chef who opened one of the first American bars in London at his Universal Symposium restaurant back in the 1850s. (It was introduced to the US by Jerry "The Professor" Thomas in his 1860s cocktail book.
Soyer's Gin Punch
240 ml gin
120 ml Luxardo maraschino liqueur
the juice of 2 lemons (strained)
60 ml cane syrup
240 ml sparkling water
Blend ingredients in a punch bowl with a couple of large chunks of ice. Garnish with thin slices of lemon and orange.
Now if you want something warming and slightly more interactive, try our buddy Audrey Saunders' Tom & Jerry. Get on eBay and buy a real vintage Tom & Jerry bowl and cups to get the full effect.
Tom & Jerry
Batter:
12 eggs
3 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 ounces Bacardi 8 rum
4 dashes Angostura
2 pounds sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the drink:
whole milk
Bacardi 8 rum
Courvoisier VSOP
To make the batter: separate the eggs. Beat the yolks, then add vanilla, rum, bitters, sugar and spices. In another bowl, beat the whites until stiff. Fold the whites into the mix until it has the consistency of pancake batter. You can refrigerate this?and should, if you?re not using it right away?but use it the same day.
To serve: heat the milk, and boil some water. Stir your batter, then pour 2 ounces of it into a toddy mug. Add 1 ounce rum and 1 ounce cognac. Fill the mug with equal parts hot milk and boiling water. Dust with freshly ground nutmeg.
That should be enough to get you inspired to pull your grandmother's punch bowl out of the attic and try your hand at making a flowing bowl or two during the coming weeks.
If you're in London, try a few of the master Nick's creations at:
The Hawksmoor
157 Commercial Street
London E1 6BJ
TEL: 0207 247 7392
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The Shaken Not Stirred Blog
Sunday, November 5, 2006
