| Cocktail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Mixed drink |
| Served | Chilled |
| Standard garnish | Grated nutmeg, cherries |
| Commonly used ingredients | Lemons, sugar, whiskey, brandy, rum, Champagne [1] |
Chatham Artillery punch is a potent punch containing rum, whisky, brandy, and Champagne. [2] It also contains lemons and sugar. [2] Named after the Savannah regiment, it is well-known in the city of Savannah, Georgia, [2] which is located in Chatham County.
The original recipe and creator are unknown. [2] One legend has it that George Washington was presented the punch when he arrived at Chatham Artillery in 1792, and he gave the regiment two cannons. [2] [3]
A more plausible story was reported in an 1885 article for the Augusta Chronicle. [3] It stated that the punch was created in the 1850s, when the Republican Blues returned from a drill in Macon and were welcomed back by Sergeant A. B. Luce and the Chatham Artillery. [2] [3] The punch was said to have been created by adding a quart of brandy, whiskey, and rum along with Champagne, lemon, and sugar to a horse bucket containing crushed ice. [2] [3] According to this story, every man who drank it was inebriated. [2]
In 1870, a group of Southern journalists held a convention in Savannah and were served the punch on a riverboat cruise. [2] They became inebriated and reported their encounter with the drink, proposing guesses of the actual content. [2] The punch subsequently received national attention. [2] President Chester Arthur was said to have been bested by the drink. [3]
In 1900, Admiral George Dewey, a war hero from the 1898 Battle of Manila Bay, also became inebriated when he imbibed the punch. [2] One recipe was later named after him. [2]
The drink was later revised to become less potent. [2] [4] In a recipe from 1907, it was written: "Experience has taught the rising generation to modify the receipt of their forefathers to conform to the weaker constitutions of their progeny." [4] [5]
After the end of Prohibition in the late 1930s, the cocktail grew in popularity again. [3] One of the last variations was published after Prohibition by the New York Sun in 1939. [2] The new recipes were substantially different, and sometimes included liquors like scotch and gin and even excluded Champagne. [3]
Another legend is that during Sherman's March in the Civil War, the residents of Savannah provided Sherman with so much of the punch that he decided to spare the city. [6]
Many punch recipes call for Santa Cruz rum, which became more popular after Prohibition. [7] It is more likely that heavy, dark rum is more similar to one used in the original recipe. [7] Catawba wine is difficult to find in modern times, and is substituted with a white wine or Champagne. [7] In the 1997 film adaptation of the John Berendt novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , the punch is referenced as "three parts fruit, seven parts liquor – whatever's available on both counts". [8]
The drink can be prepared by taking lemon peels and muddling them with sugar which will extract oils from the lemon peels. [1] [3] This mixture is added to lemon juice and is strained. [3] The lemon-sugar mixture is then added to a large bowl with crushed ice along with brandy, rum, whiskey, and Champagne. [3] Although not likely traditional, candied cherries (and sometimes the juice from the jar) are often added as well. [9] Similarly, gin is sometimes added in modern recipes. [9]
One variation is called Champagne punch. [9] This is less potent version of the drink, and uses Curaçao or Cointreau, a few shot of bitters, fresh strawberries, lemon, simple syrup, brandy, and Champagne. [9] It is popular at wedding receptions and Christmas parties. [9]
There are similar drinks that exist. One is regent's punch, which is popular along the East Coast of the United States. [9] Another is the Fish house punch, which is found in the Northeast United States. [9]
Mojito is a traditional Cuban punch. The cocktail often consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water, and mint. Its combination of sweetness, citrus, and herbaceous mint flavors is intended to complement the rum, and has made the mojito a popular summer drink.
The old fashioned is a cocktail made by muddling sugar with bitters and water, adding whiskey, and garnishing with an orange slice or zest and a cocktail cherry. It is traditionally served with ice in an old fashioned glass.
The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically served in a Collins glass over ice. A non-alcoholic "Collins mix" mixer is produced, enjoyed by some as a soft drink.
A Long Island iced tea or Long Island ice tea is a type of cocktail typically made with vodka, tequila, light rum, triple sec, gin, and a splash of cola, which gives the drink the same amber hue as iced tea.
The term punch refers to a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruits or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century. Punch is usually served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls.
A sour is a traditional family of mixed drinks. Sours belong to one of the old families of original cocktails and are described by Jerry Thomas in his 1862 book How to Mix Drinks.
The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks is a book about cocktails by David A. Embury, first published in 1948. The book is noteworthy for its witty, highly opinionated and conversational tone, as well as its categorization of cocktails into two main types: aromatic and sour; its categorization of ingredients into three categories: the base, modifying agents, and special flavorings and coloring agents; and its 1:2:8 ratio for sour type cocktails.
A flaming drink is a cocktail or other mixed drink that contains flammable, high-proof alcohol, which is ignited before consumption. The alcohol may be an integral part of the drink, or it may be floated as a thin layer across the top of the drink. The flames are mostly for dramatic flair. However, in combination with certain ingredients, the flavor of the drink is altered. Some flavors are enhanced, and the process may impart a toasted flavor to some drinks.
The brandy daisy is a cocktail which first gained popularity in the late 19th century. One of the earliest known recipes was published in 1876 in the second edition of Jerry Thomas's The Bartenders Guide or How To Mix Drinks: The Bon-Vivants Companion:
Fill glass one-third full of shaved ice. Shake well, strain into a large cocktail glass, and fill up with Seltzer water from a syphon.
A "fizz" is a mixed drink variation on the older sours family of cocktail. Its defining features are an acidic juice and carbonated water. It typically includes gin or rum as its alcoholic ingredient.
A polar bear, After Eight or Peppermint Paddy is a mint chocolate cocktail that tastes like a York Peppermint Pattie or an After Eight mint. It is usually made from crème de cacao and peppermint schnapps, although crème de menthe is a popular substitute.
A buck is a cocktail that is made with ginger ale or ginger beer, citrus juice, and any of a number of base liquors. Buck cocktails are sometimes called "mules" due to the popularity of a vodka buck that is known as a Moscow Mule.
A porchcrawler, also known as a porchclimb, is a mixed drink made primarily of beer, a liquor, and a sweetening agent. The most common liquors for the drink are vodka, gin, rum or whiskey. The final product is generally a highly-alcoholic, carbonated punch with a fruity taste and a light pink or yellow color. It is typically served from a large cooler of ice and is especially popular with North American college students.
A sling is a drink that, in its classic form, is made with sugar, hot or cold water, nutmeg, and a spirit such as gin, whiskey, rum, or brandy. In its modern form, it is made with gin, sweet vermouth, lemon juice, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, and soda water. The word sling comes from the German schlingen, meaning "to swallow fast".
A John Collins is a cocktail which was attested in 1869, but may be older. It is believed to have originated with a headwaiter of that name who worked at Limmer's Old House in Conduit Street in Mayfair, which was a popular London hotel and coffee house around 1790–1817.
The suffering bastard is the name for two different mixed drinks, one being more of a standard cocktail associated with World War II and the other being more of an exotic drink associated with Tiki bars. As is the case with many cocktails, there are multiple recipe variations and historical origins have been argued and changed over time. Two of the earliest recipe versions have very different ingredients. One from bartender Joe Scialom (1942) calls for brandy and gin, while another from Tiki pioneer Victor J. Bergeron primarily uses rum along with "secret ingredients" and is known for being garnished with a cucumber.
The Airmail or Air Mail is a classic cocktail based on rum, lime or lemon juice, honey, and sparkling wine. It was probably created during or shortly after the period of prohibition in the United States of America or on Cuba, i.e. in the 1920s or 1930s.
