USS Richmond Punch

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 Lemons
• 1.5 cups Superfine sugar
• 1 pint Strong black tea
• 1 pint Dark Jamaican rum (Smith & Cross or Myers’s)
• 1 pint VS or VSOP-grade cognac (Martell)
• 1 pint Ruby port (Graham’s Six Grapes)
• 4 oz Grand Marnier
• 1.5 liters Seltzer or champagne

Garnish: Thin lemon slices and grated nutmeg

Glass: Punch

PREPARATION:

The day before Thanksgiving, put a 2- or 3-quart bowl of water in the freezer. On Thanksgiving morning, peel 6 lemons with a swivel-bladed vegetable peeler, trying not to get any of the white pith. Muddle the peels with 1.5 cups of superfine sugar and let sit for an hour for the lemon oil to leach out. Juice the peeled lemons. Make 1 pint of strong black tea (use 2 teabags). Combine tea, lemon juice and sugar/lemon oil mixture. Strain out the peels. In a gallon container, combine tea/lemon/sugar mix and1 pint rum, 1 pint cognac, 1 pint ruby port and 4 oz Grand Marnier. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. To serve, unmold the block of ice in a 2-gallon punch bowl. Add the chilled punch stock and top off with 1.5 liters chilled seltzer (or, if feeling dangerous, champagne). Garnish with 1 seeded lemon sliced thin and grated nutmeg. Serves 20.