Clarified Vodka Milk Punch

Serve in an

Photographed in a

Garnish:

Lemon zest twist

How to make:

Milk Punch Base pre-batch (scale-up recipe according to requirement)
1. POUR first 7 ingredients (with peels from the zests lemons & orange) into a sealable container and leave to infuse for 12 hours in a refrigerator.
2. Hot milk method HEAT milk until just starting to simmer and pour (while still simmering) into the container containing vodka tea and juice mix. The milk should curdle. Reseal and chill for at least 2-3 hours and up to 24 hours.
OR 2. Cold milk method POUR cold milk into the container containing vodka tea and juice mix. The milk should curdle. Reseal and chill for at least 2-3 hours and up to 24 hours.
3. Fine STRAIN mixture through cheesecloth or Superbag into a large jar or another container. Ideally, this should be in a refrigerator (I removed a shelf in ours) with the cheesecloth/bag hung over the jar.
4. Repeat step three, without removing curds from the filter or move to a finer strainer (e.g. from a 400-micron bag to a 100-micron bag) or coffee filter.
5. Stored in the refrigerator this will keep for a week (and potentially months) but be sure to sterilise containers etc.

Cocktail itself
STIR 50ml pre-prepared Milk Punch Base with 50ml vodka and 7.5ml sugar syrup and strain into ice-filled glass (preferably over a chunk of block ice)

Review:

A cocktail that requires starting preparation at least a day before you want to drink it, but with its velvety texture and delicate citrus flavour, it's worth the faff. The recipe works with Lactose-free milk but it must be whole fat milk.

History:

Popular in eighteenth-century England, the earliest known clarified brandy milk punch recipe, by housewife Mary Rockett, dates back to 1711.

So popular was the Milk Punch that in 1838 Queen Victoria awarded a Royal Warrant to Nathaniel Whisson & C0. as "Purveyors of Milk Punch to Her Majesty" for their bottled version.