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Chatham Artillery punch

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(Redirected from Chatham Artillery Punch) Alcoholic beverage

Chatham Artillery punch
Cocktail
TypeMixed drink
ServedChilled
Standard garnishGrated nutmeg, cherries
Commonly used ingredientsLemons, sugar, whiskey, brandy, rum, Champagne

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 the city of Savannah, Georgia, which is located in Chatham County.

History

The original recipe and creator are unknown. 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.

A more plausible story was reported in an 1885 article for the Augusta Chronicle. 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. 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. According to this story, every man who drank it was inebriated.

In 1870, a group of Southern journalists held a convention in Savannah and were served the punch on a riverboat cruise. They became inebriated and reported their encounter with the drink, proposing guesses of the actual content. The punch subsequently received national attention. President Chester Arthur was said to have been bested by the drink.

In 1900, Admiral George Dewey, a war hero from the 1898 Battle of Manila Bay, also became inebriated when he imbibed the punch. One recipe was later named after him.

The drink was later revised to become less potent. 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."

After the end of Prohibition in the late 1930s, the cocktail grew in popularity again. One of the last variations was published after Prohibition by the New York Sun in 1939. The new recipes were substantially different, and sometimes included liquors like scotch and gin and even excluded Champagne.

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.

Ingredients

Many punch recipes call for Santa Cruz rum, which became more popular after Prohibition. It is more likely that heavy, dark rum is more similar to one used in the original recipe. Catawba wine is difficult to find in modern times, and is substituted with a white wine or Champagne. 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".

Preparation

The drink can be prepared by taking lemon peels and muddling them with sugar which will extract oils from the lemon peels. This mixture is added to lemon juice and is strained. The lemon-sugar mixture is then added to a large bowl with crushed ice along with brandy, rum, whiskey, and Champagne. Although not likely traditional, candied cherries (and sometimes the juice from the jar) are often added as well. Similarly, gin is sometimes added in modern recipes.

Variations

One variation is called Champagne punch. 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. It is popular at wedding receptions and Christmas parties.

There are similar drinks that exist. One is regent's punch, which is popular along the East Coast of the United States. Another is the Fish house punch, which is found in the Northeast United States.

See also

References

  1. ^ Stern, Steven (29 April 2014). "Original Chatham Artillery Punch Recipe". NYT Cooking. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  2. ^ McKibben, Beth (8 July 2016). "Chatham Artillery Punch: Maybe the Strongest Drink in American History". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Drink This: Chatham Artillery Punch". Atlanta Magazine. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  4. ^ Miller, Marleigh Riggins (11 April 2011). "Chatham Artillery Punch Recipe". Serious Eats. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  5. Wondrich, D. (2010). Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-101-44512-9. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  6. Pariseau, Leslie (21 June 2012). "The Great American Bar Crawl: Nine Bartenders Pick Their Favorite Cocktails". GQ. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  7. ^ Moss, R.F. (2016). Southern Spirits: Four Hundred Years of Drinking in the American South, with Recipes. Ten Speed Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-60774-867-0. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  8. Eastwood, Clint (director); Hancock, John Lee (screenwriter) (21 November 1997). Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (motion picture). Warner Bros. Pictures.
  9. ^ Fowler, D.L.; Carrington, J.R. (2008). The Savannah Cookbook. Gibbs Smith, publisher. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-4236-0224-8. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
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