Milk Punch is a soft, comforting cooler of brandy shaken hard with cold milk and sugar, silky and gently boozy rather than sharp. A whisper of vanilla rounds out the dairy and a dusting of fresh nutmeg perfumes every sip, like a lighter, cleaner Eggnog with milk standing in for the egg.
Garnish: Grated Nutmeg
Shaken · Collins · On the Rocks
add
Add brandy, milk, simple syrup, and a few drops of vanilla extract (if using) to a shaker.
shake
Fill with ice and shake well until cold and lightly frothy.
strain
Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass.
garnish
Grate fresh nutmeg over the top.
No single inventor claims Milk Punch: William Sacheverell mentions it in his 1688 account of a journey to Iona, a written recipe turns up in a 1711 cookbook, and Aphra Behn is credited with helping it spread rather than devising it. Benjamin Franklin set down his own version in 1763, warming brandy and lemon in hot milk, and in 1838 it earned a royal warrant from Queen Victoria. By 1862 Jerry Thomas's Bar-Tender's Guide was shaking it with brandy, Santa Cruz rum, sugar and milk under grated nutmeg. Two styles live on today — the English clarified punch and the brandy-or-bourbon version that New Orleans pours all year and the Deep South saves for Christmas.