 Most bartenders my age have been doing it more or less since college I on the other hand have not always been a bartender I changed careers about eight years ago, and I became interested in it because of the drinks actually I saw this new wave of bartenders meticulously preparing these little works of art that looked in taste and incredible and All I could think was I want to do that. I want to participate in that I want to know everything there is to know about these drinks and now I do I'm kidding of course learning about cocktails and alcohol is a lifelong pursuit and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying But yes early on all I wanted was to work at a beautiful bar and make really fancy drinks But that all changed when I got this book without going too far into it Dave Wanderich is an incredibly nice and incredibly funny guy with an amazing knowledge of history And when it comes to a lot of things drinks related He is the historical record and learning about punch's history and making some of these recipes has completely Reoriented my interests and has also been a hell of a lot of fun There are a lot of reasons for this but one that stands out is that at the end of the day As fun as it is to delicately pour two ounces of fine spirits into a shaker to make a cocktail There's something deeply satisfying and also intrinsically hedonistic about dumping a whole F***ing bottle of booze into a bowl and subjecting your friends and strangers to it at a party for your viewing pleasure I'm going to make every recipe in this book starting today with the American whiskey punch It's hard to say exactly when American whiskey punch was created But this recipe was published in 1849 by Henry William Herbert an english-born writer who in a true Demonstration of american gumption passed himself off as an american sports writer after changing his name to frank forester and this is the recipe The best receipt i know for cold punch and that which i always use is To one tumbler of crushed sugar one and a half of spirit six of water the peel of two lemons and the juice of one So a few things we know a tumbler in those times meant eight ounces So one cup of sugar that also says a tumbler and a half of spirit So that gives us 12 ounces of whiskey having done this many times I can say with certainty that 12 ounces won't be very boozy So i'm going to use cask strength and since this is american whiskey punch we can use either bourbon or rye Next mr. Forester says to use six tumblers of water That's a lot So i'm going to cut that in half and add more if i need to but also says the peel two lemons We're not just dumping the peels into the bowl with the other ingredients So it's safe to infer that the author means an oleosaccharum for the uninitiated oleosaccharum is fancy talk for using sugar To extract the oil from lemon peel there are a lot of ways to do this and my method varies depending on what i'm making So what i'm going to do for this recipe? Is it necessarily what i do somewhere else lastly it says the juice of one lemon? I can tell you right now I'm not going to get more than one ounce out of this which will result in a very sweet bowl of punch So i'm going to take the liberty of adding more juice and yes for the whiskey I'll be using this positively glorious stag junior which clocks in at 65 point one percent ebv In some circles this is known as allocated product, which is one way of saying there isn't much out there I've mentioned it before but i live close to a woke liquor store called the liquor fountain If you're an e-sider this place is worth a visit they have loads of allocated product And if you can't get cask strength anything overproof like Russell's reserve is a great choice And if you don't have access to cask strength or a decent alternative I'll leave some suggestions on how to adjust in the description Taking all that into account this is how i make American whiskey punch Start by peeling two lemons right into your punch bowl You don't have to do it in one long peel but it does look really cool Next cover the peels with one cup or 235 mls of sugar Some would say you have to muddle this but since there are only two peels it isn't necessary here You'll want to cover this and leave it alone for a few hours overnight if possible And only a sacrum isn't required for a punch like this but it does add a nice layer of flavor You can't get otherwise it also smells incredible Next add eight ounces or 235 mls of lemon juice Three cups or 710 mls of cold water and stir until the sugar is dissolved At this point you can discard the lemon peels their job is done Last add 12 ounces or 355 mls of your cask strength whiskey Give it another stir and taste If it's too strong add more water a little bit at a time But be careful not to over dilute Add the biggest ice you can and you're done Experience would have me grade not Meg on this But the recipe doesn't call for it so I'm not going to Would make a nice addition though Oh that's really good Good idea to cut back on the water Super complex and even though it's swimming in twice as much water the bourbon hits back But like I said before part of the fun with punch is subjecting your friends to it You feel me? Yeah Christy Hey I like to smell underings I smell whiskey which I don't like but I will always try it once Ooh that it's actually pretty good I can taste the whiskey but I'm not against it Wow it's very refreshing it's cool Mmm it's a good fruity and then you can taste the bite of the alcohol Like a tiny bit but barely at the end Definitely taste the booze What is that citrusy? Slightly citrusy That's pretty awesome I dig it I'm going to move to the south This is what I would drink in the south I'd be like would you like to have some of my southern drink This is it But it's good it's easy it's easy to drink I think you could easily get drunk off this Also I'm pretty sure you gave me a full glass and I've already drank almost all of it Oh it's so good I've had two sips and I just got this And I could keep drinking it I'm going to take my third sip Smooth and there's like a little aftertaste of like you remember your drinking alcohol Which I love to forget This is perfect What is this cocktail? What is this punch cocktail? Does it have a name? What was it commonly served at? Cause like I feel like craft cocktails became a big thing And they're like oh you have to have this And like a copper cup or this is served in this gimlet But so it's good it's very good What is it? Yeah what is it? It's punch from 1849 1849? Like the year 1849 Yeah It's been sitting for No the recipes from 1849 are just really I'll say we're fucked I like those people I think it's like it's like a perfect glass It's like just enough And like a little handle Like in your awkward social conversations in 1846 or whatever that is We're like no don't look at my ankle It's really good stuff I like it She's like apricots Really? Yeah Interesting one a second Like you know stone fruit It's very subtle too It's you know not the first thing I pick up But it's you know when it starts going down the palette For whatever reason I just get a little bit of stone fruit It's like like ripe apricots You know what you're not wrong Good catch Well it's amazing Is that just a sag junior? Yeah Cool And I think I've had this one itself On its own That's amazing man Thank you Thanks for having me And that about wraps it up for American Whiskey Punch I'm always interested in what people think of these drinks If you end up making this recipe for yourself or friends Leave me a comment, let me know how it goes If you liked it, hit like Consider subscribing if you haven't already And if you're so inclined Check out some of these other videos Take care and I'll see you soon Should I do more? Oh my god that's so good Nice