Citizens! My best wishes to you for a 2015 replete with gastronomic delights, a surfeit of good cheer and a brimstone whiff of revolutionary fervor! 😀
To celebrate, I refer you to one of my favorite historical recipes – for a punch guaranteed to put the Bacchanalia into your New Year’s Eve soirée!
Charleston was the home of the “Light Dragoons”, a pseudo-military society of carousing gentlemen in the late 1700’s who really knew how to throw a party.
This punch WAS in fact the party – it serves about 50!
Interestingly, this particular recipe despite originating in South Carolina ended up being published by a Canadian politician, from her Northernly carpetbagging grandfather. 😉
Read the fascinating history of the drink here!
Enjoy, citizens – stay safe this evening and enjoy yourselves in a manner worthy of your Generalissimo!
Battle on in 2015!
Ingredients
- Charleston Light Dragoon Punch – AKA “the iron fist in the velvet glove.”:
- 4 quarts of black tea
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 quart and one cup lemon juice
- 1 quart dark rum (Jamaican)
- 4 quarts California Brandy (any non-gourmet brandy)
- ½ pint peach (or apricot) brandy
- Equal parts Club soda
Instructions
- Make the black tea/lemon juice mixture, stirring in sugar when hot. Add the alcohol. Set aside or bottle for later use.
- In a punch bowl place blocks of ice and garnishes of lemon and orange peels. Pour in equal parts of the tea-brandy-rum mixture with club soda.
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I’m excited to uncover this website. I want to to thank you for your time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely really liked every part of it and I have you book-marked to see new information on your blog.
Thank you so much, Patricia – I hope you enjoy being a valued citizen of TFD! 🙂
Sincerely – The Generalissimo