Name: Livorno Punch (Ponce alla Livornese)
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 1 barspoon Powdered sugar; 5 ml Boiling water; 1 fresh Lemon peel; 15 ml Aged rum (6-10yr); 30 ml Espresso coffee (hot)

Livorno Punch (Ponce alla Livornese)
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Livorno Punch (Ponce alla Livornese) image

Serve in a Shot glass

Ingredients:
1 barspoon	Powdered sugar (white sugar ground in mortar and pestle)
¹⁄₆ oz	Boiling water
1 fresh	Lemon peel
¹⁄₂ oz	Caribbean blended rum aged 6-10 years
1 oz	Espresso coffee (freshly brewed & hot)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Garnish: Dust with freshly grated cinnamon

How to make:

1. Place thick-cut coin-sized lemon zest in base of glass and cover with sugar. 2. Ideally, use the steam wand of a coffee machine to steam and moisten sugar while also warming glass (alternatively, add a splash of boiling water). 3. MUDDLE lemon and sugar in base of glass (with small muddler). 4. POUR rum into glass. 5. TOP with a shot of espresso dispensed straight into your cocktail from the machine.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Livorno Punch (Ponce alla Livornese) lifestyle image

Review:

Run and coffee with zesty lemon. A drink to challenge the Espresso Martini.

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History:

Said to date from the 1700s, this is the signature ponce (Italian for punch) of the Italian port city of Livorno on the west coast of Tuscany.

In a letter to his friend Nando, poet Giosuè Carducci (1835-1907) wrote: "We drank a lot of white, o Nando, we drank a lot of black punch and with profound knowledge, we never left a cup or glass without seeing the bottom."

If you want to properly experience a Ponce alla Livornese, then head to the Civil Bar in Livorno, a historic caffè founded in the 1890s, this is the drink's spiritual home.

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Matt

21st November 2024 at 01:31

Fascinating little drink! I made with a ristretto shot drawn from a super-automatic machine, using Lavazza Super Crema (which I believe is a blend of arabica and robusta beans). Appleton 8 yr. Much more subdued than a shot of ristretto should be - it is nutty, with a bit of lemon nose when sipping (but not in the taste). Not sweet, and only a bit bitter (again, much more subdues than a ristretto shot). Excellent!

Matija Prelec

11th June 2023 at 12:11

As a note, don't use your artisanal coffee for this. If it incluses words like "single origin" or "high grown" or whatever, it is not optimal here.

You want a classic, high roast level, "commercial" style where nowhere it utters the label "100% arabica".

You know what I mean here.

With such a robust coffee, this pleasantly balances the bitterness and brings interest, while those lighter, more fruity and acidic blends would throw the balance off.