Punch. The recipe for a 'fire' drink

In Russia, the punch was considered the most "hussar" drink. Very impressive was his pitch. They filled a large container, threw pieces of fruit from above and poured a bit of strong alcohol on the surface, which was set on fire. The light was extinguished in the hall and a bowl of beverage was poured into the glowing pale blue flame, which was then poured into special glasses, narrow and tall, like girl's waists, made of thick clear glass, through which a honey-golden spicy punch showed through.

The history of this drink begins in medieval India, where the word "paantsch", which stands for "five", was called a hot mixture of five ingredients, the recipe of which was eventually lost. The punch with rum, strong tea, hot water, lemon juice and sugar, which is considered classic, migrated to Europe from Jamaica, where he underwent some prescription changes that have survived to this day. Now this word is called numerous alcoholic and non-alcoholic heated mixtures containing dry wine, combined with rum, cognac or brandy, with the addition of fruit juices, sugar, various spices. There are recipes where eggs and milk are used. To revive the "hussar" parties and make a punch at home is easy, especially since there are many recipes for it. Prepare also a chilled non-alcoholic punch, the recipe of which consists of a mixture of juices, tea, with the addition of whole fruits and berries, as well as ice cubes.

During the preparation, the mixture of wine, sugar, spices is heated so that the sugar completely melts and the mixture has a uniform consistency. Do not overheat the drink, because at a temperature above 80 degrees the wine loses its flavor. To preserve the strength of the drink, rum or cognac is poured already into the warmed wine, after it is removed from the fire. How to make a punch? Here are a few simple recipes.

Tea punch. Low alcohol prescription

In the teapot make strong tea from four spoonfuls of black tea and two glasses of boiling water. Pour strained tea and a bottle of dry or semi-dry wine into a saucepan. The mixture is heated. In a separate container for two or three minutes, a mixture of half a glass of water, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and lemon peel is boiled. Then strained spicy mixture is added to the tea-wine. The finished punch is poured over high glasses and served warm.

Barbados punch. Recipe for an old drink

According to one of the oldest recipes, the punch is prepared this way. It is necessary to take lemon juice, sugar, rum and water in the ratio 1x2x3x4 and a pinch of crushed nutmeg. Water, juice, sugar and nutmeg are mixed and heated on the stove, then rum is added to the hot mixture.

Finally, you can prepare a cold punch. The recipe for its preparation is as follows. Several lemons and oranges are cut into mugs, placed in a container and covered with lump sugar. After the sugar has absorbed the juice, the lemon and orange slices are pulled out, the skin is peeled off from them and placed in a punch tank. To oranges and lemons you can add pineapple and other fruits and berries. To the fruit poured one bottle of boiling water, put the juice soaked with juice. After the boiling water has cooled down, one bottle of vodka and two glasses of cognac are poured into the container. Mixtures must be given a good brew. Then it is poured into glasses, adding to each ice cubes. This cold punch can be filtered, bottled, corked and stored in a cellar.

To surprise guests and prepare a "fire" punch, you need to carefully pour the cognac with the drink, trying not to mix it with the total contents, pour brandy or rum and set it on fire. This alcoholic layer from the surface will quickly "evaporate", the flame will go out, and the drink can be poured by glasses.