Best Cape Fear Punch Recipes

CAPE FEAR PUNCH

Steps:

• For the base: Pour the rye whiskey into a 4-quart container. Fill the now-empty rye whiskey bottle with water, pour into an electric kettle, and bring to a boil. Add the sugar and stir until the temperature drops to 190ºF. Place the tea bags in the kettle and steep for 3 minutes.
• Add the tea, rum, and Cognac to the whiskey. Add the lemon zest to the mixture, wrapping and reserving the lemon bodies for later use, and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• For the punch: Strain the base into a large punch bowl. Juice the reserved lemon bodies and add to the punch bowl. When ready to serve, add the oranges, lemons, sparkling wine, and seltzer water, and stir to combine. Add the ice block and serve with freshly grated nutmeg.

CUCUMBER LEMONADE GIN PUNCH

Steps:

• Juice the lemons and place the strained juice and the bodies into a large pot. Add the sugar to the pot and muddle with the lemon bodies and juice for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the lemon bodies, add the water and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
• Strain the mixture into a 3-quart glass container and add the cucumbers. Steep for 1 hour. Add the gin and stir to combine. Serve over ice.

CLARIFIED MILK PUNCH

Steps:

• Heat 2 1/4 cups of water to 208 degrees F. If you have an electric kettle with a temperature setting, great. If not, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, kill the heat and count to 20. Pour the water over the teabags into a quart vessel and steep 3 minutes before removing the bags. (Do not wring out or squeeze the bags.)
• Add the sugar to the hot tea and stir to dissolve. Then add the port, rum, Allspice Dram, and lemon juice. Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• Pour the milk into a glass pitcher and then follow with the tea mixture. (Yes, it will curdle.) Park on counter for 1 hour. Do not shake, stir or molest in any way. Just let the magic happen. Oh, and make sure the tea goes into the milk, not the other way around.
• Line a large, fine-mesh sieve with a commercial-sized coffee filter (we like those made for 1.5-gallon machines) and strain the mixture into a wide, 4-quart container. Once completely filtered, typically about 1 hour, transfer to a quart jar or pitcher and chill to serve. (See Cook's Note.)
• Store tightly sealed in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
• Heat a heavy skillet over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Toast the allspice berries until fragrant, about 1 minute, then roughly crush.
• Combine the rum and crushed allspice berries in a quart-sized glass jar, seal the lid tightly and give it a good shake. Steep for 10 days.
• Strain the allspice-infused rum through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan and add the sugar. Heat over low, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature before storing in a glass jar or bottle.
• Note: Any overproof rum will work here, meaning any rum over 50 percent ABV. But navy-strength rum, typically bottled at 57 percent ABV, is my favorite. Just remember: The higher the ABV of the rum, the higher the ABV of your resulting dram.

CAPE FEAR CLUB PUNCH

Steps:

• Mix together all of the stock ingredients and store the mixture in an airtight container, the longer the better. When ready to serve use a 2 gallon punch bowl with a large block of ice placed inside. To this add the sparkling water as desired, then the champagne. Add the sliced oranges and lemons and serve.