Charles Dickens'S Punch Recipe
- 3 lemons (preferably organic)
- 6 ounces demerara sugar
- 20 ounces Jamaica rum
- 6 ounces cognac
- 40 ounces boiling water
- Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel the three lemons, being careful to remove only the yellow peel and not the bitter white pith. Juice the peeled lemons and set aside.
- Place the peels, sugar, rum and cognac in the cast iron pot.
- Using a long spoon, remove some of the rum from the pot and light it with a match. While it is is flaming, carefully pour the burning liquor from the spoon into the pot, igniting all of the spirits.
- Allow to burn for three or four minutes, then extinguish by covering the pot with a tight-fitting lid.
- To the extinguished spirit-sugar-peel mixture, add the reserved lemon juice and the boiling water. Stir well, cover, and let sit for five minutes.
- Remove the lid, stir again and taste. Adjust the sweetness with sugar or water if necessary.
- Place the pot, covered, on a burner and simmer for fifteen minutes. At this point, you can serve the punch immediately as a hot drink, but remove the lemon peels if you expect to have the punch sitting for more than two hours.
- Alternatively, you can allow the punch to cool to room temperature and serve over ice.
lemons, sugar, rum, cognac, boiling water
Taken from www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/03/drink-the-book-charles-dickenss-punch.html (may not work)