This is the absolute hot punch recipe for Christmas, by Charles Dickens himself!
He included this recipe in a letter to a friend and thank God someone thought that this was a valuable piece of information and kept it safe! Well we know that Charles Dickens loved spirits, you can find them in every story he has written after all, but that he conceived his own punch and that we can taste it, is beyond imagination! I found the recipe on the internet browsing for a tasty punch to serve after the Christmas meal and I couldn’t help sharing it with you! Just be careful with all that flaming! You don’t want to ruin your holidays by burning out your house! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
✦ INGREDIENTS ✦
(Yield: 8 cups)
3/4 cup sugar (preferably demerara)
3 lemons
2 cups rum (preferably Smith & Cross)
1 1/4 cups cognac (preferably Courvoisier VSOP)
5 cups black tea (or hot water)
heat proof bowl or enameled cast-iron pot
Garnish: lemon and orange wheels, freshly grated nutmeg
✦ INSTRUCTIONS ✦
✧ In the basin of an enameled cast-iron pot or heatproof bowl, add sugar and the peels of three lemons.
✧ Rub lemons and sugar together to release citrus oils. For more greater infusion, let sit for 30 minutes.
✧ Add rum and cognac to the sugar and citrus.
✧ Light a match, and, using a heatproof spoon (stainless steel is best), pick up a spoonful of the spirit mix.
✧ Carefully bring the match to the spoon to light.
✧ Carefully bring the lit spoon to the spirits in the bowl.
✧ Let the spirits burn for about three minutes. The fire will melt the sugar and extract the oil from the lemon peels.
✧ Extinguish the bowl by covering it with a heatproof pan or tray.
✧ Skim off the lemon peels (leaving them too long in may impart a bitter flavor).
✧ Squeeze in the juice of the three peeled lemons, and add hot tea or water.
✧ If serving the punch hot, skip to the next step. If serving cold, cool punch in the refrigerator and, when cooled, add ice.
✧ Garnish with citrus wheels and grated nutmeg.
✧ Ladle into individual glasses.
Enjoy!