Charles Dickens’ Punch

Ingredients

• 10 oz Brown Rum
• 10 oz Jamaican Rum
• 8 oz Cognac
• 6 oz Lemon Juice
• 0.75 Sugar
• 4 Lemon
• 32 oz Water
• 1 Nutmeg

Method

1. Peel the four lemons in broad strips, avoiding the white pith. Muddle the peels with the measured sugar (3/4 cup for the base batch) in a heatproof bowl and leave for a few hours to release their oils.
2. Measure the lemon juice separately; juice the peeled lemons and use enough to reach the listed amount.
3. Add the rums, cognac, and hot water to the bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
4. Stir in the lemon juice. Ladle into heatproof cups, straining out the peels as you serve. Optional finish: grated nutmeg.
5. For cold punch, chill the mixture and serve over a large block of ice. This preparation uses hot water to dissolve the sugar; no ignition is needed.