Billy Dawson's Milk Punch - Cook's Science

227 g	whole milk
113 g	demerara sugar
25 g	lemon zest strips (from 2 lemons)
227 g	boiling water
290 g	rum
150 g	brandy
90 g	porter or stout
85 g	lemon juice
25 g	Batavia Arrack

1 cup whole milk

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 ounces) demerara sugar

1 ounce lemon zest strips (from 2 lemons)

1 cup boiling water

1¼ cups rum

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons brandy

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons porter or stout

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons Batavia Arrack

- 227 g whole milk
- 113 g demerara sugar
- 25 g lemon zest strips
- 227 g boiling water
- 290 g rum
- 150 g brandy
- 90 g porter or stout
- 85 g lemon juice
- 25 g Batavia Arrack
Place milk in 8-cup liquid measuring cup or large pitcher; set aside. Combine sugar and zest strips in 4-cup liquid measuring cup or large bowl. Using back of ladle, gently muddle zest and sugar until oil releases from zest and sugar starts to look wet and clumpy, 45 to 60 seconds. Add boiling water and whisk to dissolve sugar. Whisk in rum, brandy, porter, lemon juice, and Batavia Arrack.
Pour rum mixture into milk. Gently stir curds with small spoon. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Line fine-mesh strainer with coffee filter and set over large measuring cup or bowl. Gently pour rum-milk mixture into coffee filter and let drain. Drain strained punch mixture through curds in coffee filter one more time. Discard curds and coffee filter. Transfer clarified punch to lidded glass container and refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, pour 56 to 85 grams chilled punch into small glass.

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muddle: The goal of muddling the zest is to extract the flavorful oil and incorporate it into the punch. Demerara sugar’s coarse texture helps this process.

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Line fine-mesh strainer with coffee filter: The best coffee filter for the job is a large basket-style filter. You can buy them here.

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let drain.: Don’t push or press the liquid through the filter—let it slowly drain through and you’ll get the clearest punch possible.

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refrigerate: There are rumors that milk punch can be stored at a cool temperature pretty much indefinitely. We haven’t tested that, but it will definitely keep for a month. But honestly, is it really going to last that long?

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To serve,: You actually have a lot of options for serving this drink. Straight from the bottle it’s basically cocktail strength so you can serve it chilled and up. For a lower alcohol punch-strength drink, stir it with ice and then strain into a glass. You can also try shaking it with ice. Dave Arnold, author of Liquid Intelligence, likes how well milk-clarified drinks foam, thanks the leftover whey proteins.

- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 ounces) demerara sugar
- 1 ounce lemon zest strips (from 2 lemons)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1¼ cups rum
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons brandy
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons porter or stout
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Batavia Arrack
Place milk in 8-cup liquid measuring cup or large pitcher; set aside. Combine sugar and zest strips in 4-cup liquid measuring cup or large bowl. Using back of ladle, gently muddle zest and sugar until oil releases from zest and sugar starts to look wet and clumpy, 45 to 60 seconds. Add boiling water and whisk to dissolve sugar. Whisk in rum, brandy, porter, lemon juice, and Batavia Arrack.
Pour rum mixture into milk. Gently stir curds with small spoon. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Line fine-mesh strainer with coffee filter and set over large measuring cup or bowl. Gently pour rum-milk mixture into coffee filter and let drain. Drain strained punch mixture through curds in coffee filter one more time. Discard curds and coffee filter. Transfer clarified punch to lidded glass container and refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, pour ¼ cup to 3/8 cup chilled punch into small glass.

Hide Annotation

muddle: The goal of muddling the zest is to extract the flavorful oil and incorporate it into the punch. Demerara sugar’s coarse texture helps this process.

Hide Annotation

Line fine-mesh strainer with coffee filter: The best coffee filter for the job is a large basket-style filter. You can buy them here.

Hide Annotation

let drain.: Don’t push or press the liquid through the filter—let it slowly drain through and you’ll get the clearest punch possible.

Hide Annotation

refrigerate: There are rumors that milk punch can be stored at a cool temperature pretty much indefinitely. We haven’t tested that, but it will definitely keep for a month. But honestly, is it really going to last that long?

Hide Annotation

To serve,: You actually have a lot of options for serving this drink. Straight from the bottle it’s basically cocktail strength so you can serve it chilled and up. For a lower alcohol punch-strength drink, stir it with ice and then strain into a glass. You can also try shaking it with ice. Dave Arnold, author of Liquid Intelligence, likes how well milk-clarified drinks foam, thanks the leftover whey proteins.

Billy Dawson’s Milk Punch