Bartenders and mixologists are also rediscovering brandy’s virtues, mining the early history of cocktail making for recipes—and finding the spirit front and center. At Husk, in Charleston, a centuries-old libation called the Light Dragoon’s Punch is one of the most popular drinks on the menu. According to Rod Weaver, the head bartender, it originated in a dusty old tome from 1783 at the Preservation Society of Charleston.
Drinks
Light Dragoon’s Punch
20
The return of a classic Charleston cocktail
photo: Johnny Autry
Ingredients
-
2 cups raw sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice, from about 12 lemons
8 cups black tea
8 cups brandy
2 cups Bermuda or Barbados rum
1/2 cup peach brandy
Peels of 3 lemons, cut into slivers
3 cups soda water
Preparation
Combine all ingredients except soda water in a large bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved, and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Add ice (preferably in one large block) and top with soda water before serving. Alternatively, top each glass with 1 ounce of soda water before serving.
Cocktail recipe from Husk in Charleston, South Carolina.
Related Stories:
Food & Drink
A Classic Southern Combination
Make a batch of traditional green tomato marmalade and cheese pennies, just like they do at Western North Carolina’s John C. Campbell Folk School
Drinks
A Different Kind of Catfish
This effervescent vodka, lemon, and basil cocktail comes straight out of the Mississippi Delta
Food & Drink
Chef Kristen Essig’s Big-Batch Bolognese
The house Bolognese sauce at Thalia, NOLA’s newest neighborhood joint, is an old-school, comforting recipe—as at-home on noodles as it is on nachos
Trending Stories:
49
Slideshow
Food & Drink
Forgotten Southern Recipes
From pear salad and tomato pudding to vinegar pie and bacon crackers, we’re more than ready for these old-school classics to make a comeback
18
Slideshow
Arts & Culture
Party Like a Vanderbilt
A new exhibition at the Biltmore in Asheville shows Southern hospitality at its finest
13
Slideshow
Food & Drink