The Varnish's Milk Punch(recipe originates from a 1711 British recipe)

By mahto

Ingredients

• Peeled zest of 6 lemons plus 1 1/3 cups juice from a total of about 10 lemons
• 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 2 quarts (1/2 gallon) whole milk
• 1 3/4 cups turbinado simple syrup (see note above)
• 2 cups cognac, such as Pierre Ferrand 1840
• 1 quart demerara rum, such as El Dorado Five-Year
• Garnish: freshly grated nutmeg

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from seriouseats.com

Preparation

Step 1

Notes:
To make turbinado syrup, dissolve 1 pound of turbinado sugar (about 2 1/4 cups) in 3 cups hot water.

Place peeled zest in a non-reactive bowl or container. Add superfine sugar and muddle until the sugar starts to pull out the essential oil in the peels, about 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. After it sits, the peels will shrivel and the oils and sugar will combine into a fragrant syrup, called the oleo-saccharum.

Heat milk in a large saucepan, stirring constantly, until steaming but not boiling. Off heat, add the oleo-saccharum (with the zest), lemon juice, simple syrup, cognac, and rum. Stir vigorously until the curds and whey have separated. Strain mixture though a fine mesh strainer to remove curds and zest. Add more syrup or dilute with water to adjust sweetness. Serve warm or cold, topped with freshly grated nutmeg.