Livorno Punch (Ponce alla Livornese)
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Livorno Punch (Ponce alla Livornese)
Serve in a Shot glass
| 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) |
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
Review:
Run and coffee with zesty lemon. A drink to challenge the Espresso Martini.
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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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.