The Milk Punch Project – Let’s be clear again

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. Milk clarification is an old cocktail technique transferred to the new cocktail zeitgeist. I haven’t made one in a long time – let’s be clear again.

Recently I was invited by Disaronno and was given a bottle for home. Can you imagine what’s coming next?! I searched my home bar for suitable matches. The good news with Milk Punch: you don’t need fancy equipment, you just need what you usually have at home or can easily buy at your corner shop.

Milk Punch can be made from almost any spirit and combined with nearly anything. In this case, Grappa and Disaronno are a nice match.

For my recipe I used a Grappa, aged 12 months in oak barrels. I bought it years ago at a distillery in Tuscany. Complex and delicate with hints of maraschino cherry, chocolate and vanilla. A great match with the Disaronno notes. As filler I used some green tea and leftover fino sherry from my fridge. To highlight the floral and herbal notes of the Disaronno, I macerated a mix of dried flowers (Mallow blossoms, sunflower petals, marigold petals, rose petals) in ginger eau-de-vie. Dashes of Angostura Cocoa Bitters rounded off the potion. I added no extra sugar. Time to let the magic happen. I used almond milk and vinegar for the clarification process, which worked perfectly.

Here’s the recipe:

200 ml Grappa

100 ml Disaronno

100 ml Ginger eau-de-vie (with dried flowers)

5-10 Dashes Angostura Cocoa Bitters

170 ml Fino Sherry

250 ml Green Tea

30 ml Vinegar

250 ml Almond Milk

Process: The punch goes into the milk. Resting time ideally 24 hours. Strain several times until it’s clear. Store in a sealed bottle.

The result was a floral, delicate and smooth mix with the character of a wine. I served it to my sister with a clear ice ball and some of the dried flowers on top. She was surprised by the flavourful composition. A composition I’m proud of.

To learn more about making Milk Punch and my trial and errors, click on these links.