Log Book of my Milk Punch Craze

Log Book of my Milk Punch Craze

I’m a longtime fan of clarified Milk Punches. I love the smooth texture, the powerful taste and the weak alcoholic strength. Milk Punch dates back nearly three centuries and has gone in and out fashion. Over the years, the recipe has been tested and adjusted.

After attending the Blessed Ones’ workshop about how to make Milk Punch I started to make my first one. The result, it is easy to make and fascinating to watch. I would say that I am a bit obsessed now and many flavour combinations are coming to my mind. Also, I have many open bottles and samples at home that I haven’t touched for years. Milk Punch can be made from almost any spirit and combined with nearly everything, the best way to recycle all the “leftovers”.

On the one hand, milk punch is easy to make but on the other it also needs experience and patience. And not all things that in theory taste good in my imagination taste good in practice.

As you might already have assumed I tried to make an Aviation but that was more like a cherry marzipan potion that, by the way, my mother enjoyed, but didn’t hit the character of an Aviation. Anyway, I will chronicle my trials and errors from now on. Maybe you have some suggestions and recipes, they are warmly welcome. Cheers!


Dear Diary …

Saturday, 25.01.2020 // Pandastic Clarified Milk Punch

I was very happy to attend the first Ming River Baijiu Cocktail Competition and got a bottle of Ming River Baijiu.  I haven’t made a Milk Punch in a long time – let’s be clear again. 

The traditional Chinese spirit Baijiu is said to be the most consumed spirit in the world, and is now becoming more well-known.

The magic ingredient of Baijiu is called qu, a naturally harvested culture of yeasts that makes the taste of each Baijiu reflective of the place it was created. As a terroir-forward spirit, it is as interesting as mezcal. Baijiu is a separate category of spirits from traditional Chinese grain spirits. It is extremely diverse and consists of several subcategories. In this case, I am referring to the taste of Ming River Baijiu, the original Sichuan Baijiu using traditional methods passed from master to apprentice since 1573. The taste is really special and every time I drink it I’m not sure if I like it or not. It is one of those love-hate relationships but I have to admit that it works very well in cocktails together with Vermouth, Fernet Menta, Port, tropical fruits, coconut, pandan, ginger, basil etc. Dive into its flavour profile and give it a try.

 

This Milk Punch is definitely my favourite drink I’ve created so far. It was also the first time that I tried fat washing. A way of flavouring alcohol with molten fats such as coconut oil, butter or bacon. It looks gross but results in a smoother flavour. So, I melted some coconut oil and mixed it with the Baijiu in the ratio 1:7. I let it rest for a night in the fridge, then put it in the freezer for a couple of hours and then simply peeled the frozen coconut oil from the surface. As filler, I used a floral green tea. For the sweetness and the extra flavour, I used some homemade Pandan syrup. I asked one of my trusted bartenders, Michael Blair who runs the Fifty Cocktail Heroes Bar, to help me out with a few millilitres. He makes a very tasty one. For the acidity, I used Yuzu juice – it’s a bit expensive but rounds off the whole combination. I used full-fat milk to give a nice texture but also tried coconut milk for a fresher touch. Same procedure and resting time as always. 24 hours is my minimum. 

300 ml Baijiu (coconut oil fat-washed)
300 ml Green Tea
Pandan Syrup to taste
100 ml Yuzu
100 ml full-fat milk 

Note to myself: 

What to do with leftover coconut oil? Look at the pictures. All the flavour of the Baijiu is in the oil and now it is also in the chocolate. Drooling 😉


Wednesday, 27.03.2019 // Clarified Pina Colada Reloaded

I’ll be out of the office for five weeks, and my colleagues will have to live without my boozy stories. As I still have two bottles waiting to be used for a delicious milk punch, I had the idea to make another clarified Pina Colada.

Milk clarification is an old cocktail technique transferred to the new cocktail zeitgeist. The technique was used to keep the punch without cooling. Another reason was to remove astringent ingredients from the spirits and make them rounder and easily digestible. Basically, this process is no longer necessary with today’s quality standards, but it is very practical to prepare and dispose of larger quantities. In the case of the Pina Colada, it is especially the element of surprise when you get a crystal-clear mixture instead of a creamy combination.

Pina Colada does not have a good reputation for cocktail enthusiasts but enjoys great popularity. Especially in the 80s, the drink caused a sensation as a lush cream bomb. However, cream is nowhere to be found in this drink, it is a mix of fresh pineapple juice, rum and coconut cream. Since 1978 Pina Colada has officially been the national drink of Puerto Rico. There are several tales about its exact birthplace but what everyone can agree on is that it was some time in the mid-1950s or early 1960s.

Pina Colada means strained pineapple in Spanish and this is what I did. I juiced a fresh pineapple and strained it. To sweeten the mix, I cooked my own coconut syrup (1:1 sugar, water and coconut flakes). For extra freshness I used some coconut water. Same procedure as always: Punch in the milk, resting time 24 hours, straining process 4 times. Here is my recipe:

150 ml Wray & Nephew Jamaica Silver Rum
150 ml Bacardi Superior Heritage Rum
300 ml Pineapple juice
150 ml Coconut water
50 ml coconut syrup
250 ml fresh full fat milk
100 ml lemon juice

 

Note to myself:

Another great Pina Colada. This is a perfect drink for clarification and a rejuvenating treatment for a heavy drink. I used some full fat milk for the texture. In addition, I coloured the drink blue for an extra fun factor. Cheers!


Friday, 08.03. 2019 // Blueberry Toffee Milk Punch

People are starting to pull my leg about my Milk Punch obsession! So, I went a bit crazy with blueberry flavour, salty caramel vodka and cereals. My inner child had awoken and I had been thinking about cereal infused milk for a long time, inspired by an idea of Milk Bar Bakery to make soft-serve ice-cream from the milk at the bottom of a cereal bowl. Can you recall the taste of the last spoonful from your cereal bowl?

I used to love Kellogg’s Frosties a lot. After more than twenty years I bought a new box. But what would go with the milky cereal taste? Recently I got a bottle of Stolichnaya Salted Caramel– ok, check! I asked my colleagues which fruity flavour would work? Three answered blueberries, one strawberry. The challenge was to keep the process simple. For the blueberry juice, I had to go to the organic supermarket because I prefer 100% juice and no extra sugar. By the way, the juice is very sour itself and I only used 100 ml for the punch.

 

300 ml Stolichnaya Salted Caramel Vodka
100 ml Blueberry juice (100% juice)
350 ml water
100 ml lemon juice
250 ml full-fat milk soaked for one night with Frosties
no sugar added–there is enough in the cereal

Note to myself:

I am not hundred percent happy. I expected more of the cereal flavour. Next time I will use Genever.


Tuesday, 05.03.2019 // Mezcalicious Paloma

My fridge is empty, and I haven’t made Milk Punch for a while. I still had the remains of La Escondida in a bottle. I am a big lover of a good Paloma and must admit I enjoy them when they’re made with mezcal even more. A common Paloma is made with Tequila and grapefruit soda. I love the refreshing taste and often I fancy a Paloma but have no grapefruit soda available. But usually everyone has at least soda in the fridge, so, I immediately thought of a pre-batched clarified Milk Punch that could be filled up with soda.

For my recipe I used Mezcal to add a bit more depth. I used freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and agave syrup to sweet. For a salty touch and extra spice I used a few drops of tabasco. Same procedure and resting time as always. 24 hours is the minimum.

 

300 ml Mezcal in this case La Escondida
450 ml freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
1 tablespoon agave syrup
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
100 ml of lemon juice
250 ml full-fat milk

Note to myself:

It is also very tasty without the soda. A fruity, bitter, spicy and smokey libation.


Sunday, 30.12.2018 //  If you like Pina Colada ♬

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and I am invited to a private party. To give it a more tropical feeling, I prepared a Pina Colada Punch.  I mixed and strained and made a rumtastic punch. I used full-fat milk to give a nice texture and homemade coconut syrup. Same procedure and resting time like always. 24 hours is the minimum.

200 ml Clement rhum agricole
100 ml Wary & Nephew Overproof Rum
250 ml pineapple juice
200 ml coconut water
80 ml coconut syrup (1:1 brown sugar, water and coconut flakes; cooked a few minutes to get the flavour out of the flakes)
100 ml lemon juice
250 ml full-fat milk

Note to myself:

Ready to impress the guests 🙂


Sunday, 23.12.2018 //  Christmas mode still on

Before I leave Berlin to celebrate Christmas with my family in the beautiful Palatinate region, I was checking the kitchen for leftovers. There was still a few millilitres of Ruby Port and fresh milk available, also some lemons. Okay, time for another Milk Punch. A small bottle of Diplomatico Mantuano Rum and an open bottle of Kahlua seem to fit in. As filler, I used a mix of green and black tea spiced with cinnamon, orange, cardamom and cloves. I added no extra sugar and I used cow’s milk to see if the dark brew is becoming clearer than with the soy milk.

Same procedure and resting time like always. 24 hours is my minimum. The cow’s milk did its job, the result is a bright red and clear punch. The taste is fruity and fresh. A delicious combo.

300 ml Diplomatico Mantuano Rum
200 ml Ruby Port
150 ml Kahlua
100 ml tea
100 ml freshly squeezed lemons
250 ml full-fat milk

Note to myself:

This will be a nice after dinner drink for my family. I think it pairs nicely with some cheese. And I need some clear ice balls 🙂


Wednesday, 19.12.2018 //  Christmas mode on

Christmas preparations – the festival of love and community is getting closer. I found a bottle of Port wine on the shelf and a bottle of plum brandy. Sounds like a match.

300 ml Plum brandy
450 ml Ruby Port
50 ml Plum sirup with 8 cloves and 1 tablespoon cinnamon
100 ml acid (1 squeezed orange, 1 squeezed lemon, mixed with 1 tablespoon citric acid powder)
250 ml soy milk light

I had to strain it 5 times to get the liquid a kind of clear. And it is still a bit foggy. I hope it will settle in the bottle. Maybe the base of port and plum syrup was too dark?! Anyway, it tastes like cold boozy mulled wine.

Note to myself:

I am a bit disappointed 🙁


Saturday, 24.11.2018 //  Flower Power

I got a sample of flavoured green tea. Creamy sweet, just like a Christmas cookie the salesman said. I made a cold brew for 4 hours in water and then infused the gin with the leaves for another two hours. Tea and Gin together asked for a kick. A bottle of white port whispered to me: Drink me.

300 ml Gin
100 ml White Port
350 ml Cold brew Tea
2 tblsp. Sugar
100 ml Citric Acid (1 squeezed lemon and 1/2 tablespoon citric acid)
250 ml Soymilk light

Same procedure and resting time as always. 24 hours is the minimum. The soymilk clarifies almost on its own. This was easy to make and a very elegant mix. Green tea with fragile flowers and gin is perfect to play with and surprise.

Note to myself:

I have to make more!!!


Thursday, 22.11.2018 // Tealicious

I have a tasty violet black tea at home. Heat brings out the bitter flavours in tea. So, I made a cold brew with three times more tea leaves than for a hot brew. I let the tea infuse the water for 10 hours. Then I mixed:

300 ml Gin
100 ml Cherry Eau de Vie
350 ml Cold Brew Tea
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 tablespoon Amarena syrup
250 ml Almond milk

It was the first time that I used Almond milk and it worked perfectly.  Less cheese more liquid and the separation happened very quickly.

Note to myself:

Clarified Aviation is hard to make. Almond milk has a taste and influences the drink. I have to try soymilk.


 Tuesday, 20.11.2018 // Still in a smokey mood

There are still 300 ml Vin Santo in the bottle and there is also a Lagavulin waiting to be drunk. Let’s use soy milk this time and grate the ginger. Instead of sugar, I use honey.

300 ml Vin Santo
150 ml Water
300 ml Lagavulin 16y
4 cm grated Ginger
2 tablespoons Honey
250 ml Soymilk light

Resting time of the punch base mix overnight. Resting time of the punch milk mix 24 hours. The soymilk clarifies almost on its own. My straining procedure consists of 4 steps: I take the clear part and strain the cheese part. I pour the result of the cheese part again into the filter with the cheese and then pour the clear part (I took first) on top. The cheese part is doing the clarification.

Note to myself:

Less sweet but also very powerful. Ginger and peat, sweet and smokey is a good combo.


Monday, 19.11.2018 // I am in a smokey mood today

I’ve had this almost empty bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail in the cupboard for three years now. I was thinking of a Penicillin. I also found a bottle of Vin Santo in the kitchen. Ginger, I always have at home. You can imagine what’s coming now?!

250 ml Ardbeg Uigeadail
300 ml Vin Santo di San Gimignano Guicciardini Strozzi 2006
250 ml Orange Juice
3 tablespoons of Sugar
4 cm chopped Ginger
250 ml Full-fat Milk

I let the punch mix rest for 6 hours and then put the mix in the milk. Resting time 24 hours. Wow, the result is amazing. Peaty with sweet sherry notes. Very good

Note to myself:

Expensive variation of a penicillin but absolutely delicious.


Saturday, 17.11.2018 // Aquamazing Milk Punch

On Friday I felt a bit uncomfortable and made a tea for myself. While smelling the fennel, caraway, anise mix I had the idea to try a new milk punch. I put together:

300 ml Linie Aquavit
300 ml Tea
2 tablespoons of honey dissolved in the hot tea
150 ml Apple Juice
3 cm Chopped Ginger
100 ml Lemon Juice
250 ml Full-fat Milk

As always I mixed first the punch and then poured the punch mix into the milk. Resting time for the curdling process 24 hours. I set up the straining process three times.

Note to myself:

I think cow milk has a purer taste than soy milk and it seems a bit sweeter. But compared to soy milk there is more cheese in the filter. Additionally, the cheese absorbs more liquid. I have to try almond milk next.