I'm going to start off this post with a crazy, bar-related news story, and then skillfully segue way into our drink of the month. Or at least I'll make a tangential connection - but this story is too crazy to not talk about. Okay, on to the news! There is a bar in Dawson City, Yukon (Canada) that serves a drink called the "Sour Toe." Ordering the drink gets you a certificate and your name on the wall, but there is a catch - you must drink a cocktail with an actual severed, preserved human toe in it, and the toe must touch your lips! Gross. The bar has several toes, including a prized "second toe" (the one after the big toe) which is grossly bent and distorted (the previous owner of the toe had it amputated because of hammer toe and donated it to the bar - see some great/grisly pictures
HERE). I should say that the bar
had several toes, because one tricky customer made off with the bar's favorite hammer toe the other day, in a brazen act of robbery. If you happen to know anything of the whereabouts of the the toe, contact the bar's "Toe Captain" (yes, a real job) - there is bound to be a reward. For more juicy story details, be sure to read
THIS article.
Okay, here's where I do some gymnastics in order to make a connection to my drink for this month. The Sour Toe is a drink that "benefits" from steeping a human toe in liquor. Such steeping changes the flavor of the drink the longer the additive is placed in the beverage. The Fish House Punch is another drink that has a flavor that changes over time because of an added ingredient (connection!). However, the key in the Fish House Punch is much more pedestrian than the Silver Toe - a large block of ice! The drink is designed to be kept in a refrigerator, allowing the ice to melt slowly over the course of the day, which subtly changes the flavor.
Fish House Punch is a great party drink, and its fun to make and note the shifting flavors over time. But the recipe we found calls for 32 limes and 12 lemons, and serves 15-20. What if you desire the tart pleasure of a Fish House Punch, but you don't have a citrus grove in the back yard? My bartending companion Zack and I came up with a modified recipe that makes punch for one. It can also be scaled up easily to make a small pitcher, as we did for a reception at my parents' house to welcome Charlie to the neighborhood. The punch is a delightful combination of light and dark rum, brown sugar, brandy, and citrus. Below is the recipe for the punch for one:
In a Boston shaker, combine the following:
2 oz lime juice (fresh squeezed of course)
1 oz lemon juice (ditto)
1 oz 1:1 dark brown sugar syrup*
1 oz light rum
0.5 oz dark rum
0.5 oz brandy
Shake over ice, and pour into a Collins glass filled with cracked ice. Garnish with lime and lemon wheels and/or twists!
*The original recipe calls for one cup of brown sugar to be added to the giant mix. You could add dry sugar to the citrus and stir to combine (that's what we did the first time), but making the one to one syrup (1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup water) also adds a little water, which simulates the effect of melting ice in the large-scale punch.
I hope you enjoy your Fish House Punch for One (and maybe stay away from the Sour Toe).
