1869 Cooling Cups and Dainty drinks by William Terrington

211

Punch.

tion the taste or fancy of the manipulator may choose to prescribe for the sake of variety.* Tolpsey’s Account of a West India Planter’s Punch . — “ He made his appearance with a re- spectably sized bowl, an enormous jug of boiling water, and a large paper bag filled with sugar. Our punch-maker then commenced operations, and having extracted from his secret store a bottle of his match- less rum, his limes, and a small pot of guava jelly, he brewed about a pint of green tea (2 oz.), and, the in- fusion finished, two-thirds of the sugar was dissolved in it. After the tea leaves had been thrown aside, the remainder of the sugar was rubbed on the lime ; Mr. Hamilton observing that the essential oil, which conveyed the exquisite flavour, was much more strongly diffused throughout the compound than when the skin was peeled ; then the delicious acid of the fruit was added to the already impreg- nated sugar, and as soon as the several lumps had imbibed the proportions required, the guava jelly (and without this confection no punch can be pro- nounced perfect) was dissolved in a pint or so of boiling water. This done, the tea, the sweets, and the acids were commingled, and the foundation or _ * Although the proportions may in many of the recipes he given in large quantities, they can easily he reduced by taking

, half, or a quarter, or even less, of each ingredient named.