Brandy Milk Punch

Much thanks to Darcy O’Neil for his post on Brandy Milk Punch.

They’re not often heard of beyond the Bloody Mary or Mimosa here in the west, but breakfast cocktails have been around since man first thought to mix 2 parts hair of the dog with 3 parts morning after medication (eggs, milk). I’ve been aware of milk punches for awhile, but finally was inspired by Darcy’s Brandy Milk Punch post. I’ll let you head there for the recipe.

I’m not going to say it was a complete flop, but just reinforces how much the right ingredients are necessary. For the Brandy, I used Christian Brother XS. My experience with Brandy is pretty much limited to my parents’ Hot Toddies, with the ancient bottle of Christian Brothers brought out only during the winter holiday season. Beyond Christian Brothers, I’ve had a few excellent Pear Brandies, but still haven’t found that Brandywine so lovingly discussed as the drink of heroes. Christian Brothers seems, like so many brands, to have a bit of a sharp burn just to remind you who they are, almost as though they are branding your memory via your tongue. So, I can’t really say the Brandy mixed that well. However, I will give it credit in that there was not a drop of half and half or whole milk in the house.

Milk or cream is something that just cannot be skimped upon. A bit sadly, we live in a world (well, at least I do) that has moved on from Cow’s Full milk, the kind that invades your cereal’s bright colors, and sticks to the roof of your mouth. Nowadays, in this household, it’s skim skim skim. I used Skim Royale, a whipped concoction attempting to make skim milk more like 2%, but I’m now seeing, or really, tasting, the error of my ways.

When a proper cream is used, the flavor can be so spectacular, hiding any alcohol burn from the spirits. In this case, however, the Skim Royale had met its match, and laid down to die. The nutmeg, taking up the call, decided to increase the spicy burn of the Brandy. I was a little overzealous (had to take a pretty picture!).

A failure? Partially. A misery? No. I will say this though, my morning is feeling very eXtra Smooth. As my dear friend Craig would say “How else would you stop the shaking in the morning?”

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Brandy Milk Punch

2 oz Brandy
3 oz Milk
1 tsp Sugar

Shake the Brandy, milk, and sugar with ice and strain into a Double Rocks glass. Garnish with nutmeg.

A great variation I’ve seen done at Screen Door here in Portland adds a rum of Pernod and sugar to the glass, which is utterly delightful.

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Drink and Enjoy!

Tagged as: Brandy, milk, nutmeg, pernod, screen door, sugar