George IVs Punch, Berkshire
The Prince Regent, who eventually succeeded to the throne as George IV , was a man of wit and exceptional taste, patron of John Nash and a great benefactor of The British Museum . But as one of his many critics wrote, he preferred “A girl and a bottle to politics and a sermon,” (less of a scandalous choice now perhaps). As King George IV at Windsor Castle , he is said to have drunk nearly every day a concoction mixed for him by his servant Mr Maddison. No definitive recipe exists, but the following is in the spirit (or evidently spirits) of the thing, which became fashionable for the upper and middle classes.
Take 2 or 3 lemons and the same number of oranges; pare the zest from them, avoiding pith; crush this zest with 4 oz of Demerara sugar to maximize the flavour, then add half a pint of cold green tea and allow to steep for at least couple of hours. Juice the fruit into a very large jug or bowl; put in the tea/citrus zest mixture; add about quarter of a pint of pineapple juice (the original calls for making a pineapple syrup but life’s too short); pour in a bottle of brandy; half a bottle of dark rum (not white); and half a bottle of Batavian arrack (not the Turkish sort), or another half-bottle of lighter rum if that can’t be found. Strain this liquid into your punch bowl to remove any pulp and the zest. At the last minute, depending on the state of your pocket and how many people you are catering for, pour in a bottle or preferably two of dry champagne (or any decent methode traditionelle dry sparkler), and ice in large blocks (to chill the thing, not to find its way into glasses). Decorate with slices of lemon, orange, and pineapple.
A warning: George IV who drank gallons of this at any hour became horribly obese, sometimes unable to rise from his bed.
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