| Fish-House Punch There's a little place just out of town, Where, if you go to lunch, They'll make you forget your mother-in-law With a drink called Fish-House Punch. |
| An early-known print reference to Fish-House Punch is in "The Cook" (1885). [1] |
Fish House Punch is a strong, rum-based punch containing rum, cognac, and peach brandy. The drink is typically served over an ice block in a punch bowl and garnished with lemon slices. [2]
It is held to have been first concocted in 1732 at Philadelphia's fishing club, the State in Schuylkill, [3] also known as the "Fish House".[ citation needed ]
A 1744 note by the secretary of an embassy of Virginia Commissioners contains what may be the earliest record of the punch. Meeting local notables at the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, he described being served "a Bowl of fine Lemon Punch big enough to have Swimmed half a dozen of young Geese." [2]
America's first president, George Washington, indulged in thirteen toasts — one for each state — during a victory celebration at New York's Fraunces Tavern, and it is said that after he partook of Fish House punch at Philadelphia's State in Schuylkill, he couldn't bring himself to make an entry in his diary for the following three days. [4]
The State in Schuylkill Fish House Punch is traditionally made in a large bowl that did double duty as a baptismal font for citizens' infants. "Its an ample space . . . . . would indeed admit of total immersion," one citizen noted. [5]
The Fish House was a gentlemen's club devoted to cigars, whiskey, and the occasional fishing foray upon the Chesapeake or upon the Restigouche River in Canada. Another version states that it was created in 1848 by Shippen Willing of Philadelphia, to celebrate the momentous occasion of women being allowed into the premises of the "Fish House" for the first time in order to enliven the annual Christmas party. [6] It was supposed to be just "something to please the ladies' palate but get them livelier than is their usual wont."
The punch, which contains rum, cognac, and peach brandy, is potent, so it is normally diluted with cold black tea, a common mixer for this particular punch, or with seltzer water. Some punch bowls may not be large enough to accommodate the large ice block called for, and though the block is a classic part of this recipe, it can, of course, be simply served in a pitcher over ice cubes.
Stir together sugar and 3½ cups water in a large bowl or pot until sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice, rum, cognac, and brandy and chill, covered, at least 3 hours. Put half-gallon ice block in a punch bowl and pour punch over it.
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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.
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A Polar Bear, After Eight or Peppermint Paddy is a mint chocolate cocktail that tastes like a York Peppermint Pattie or an After Eight wafer. It is usually made from crème de cacao and peppermint schnapps, although crème de menthe is a popular substitute.
Curacao Punch is a cocktail that comes from Harry Johnson's New and Improved Bartender's Manual (1882). Dale DeGroff, a notable bartender and author of The Craft of the Cocktail, holds this to be his favorite forgotten potation.
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Chatham Artillery Punch is a potent punch containing rum, whisky, brandy, and Champagne. It also contains lemons and sugar. Named after the Savannah regiment, it is well-known in its the city of Savannah, Georgia.
