You can’t say those soldiers didn’t know how to drink!
Ingredients:
- 2 qt rum
- 1 qt brandy
- 1 pt lemon juice
- 1 1/2 c tea
- 1 c sugar
Directions:
- Mix.
- Pour over a large block of ice AT LEAST 3 hours before drinking. (You don’t want to see what happens if it is not somewhat diluted!)
Serves: Makes 1 1/2 gal.
Source: Major General James A Woodruff
Notes: According to Wikipedia:
This most venerable of American flowing bowls is held to have been first concocted in 1732 at Philadelphia’s fishing club, the “State in Schuylkill” also known as the “Fish House”.
A 1744 note by the secretary of an embassy of Virginia Commissioners contains what may be the earliest record of the punch. Meeting local notables at the “Schuylkill River” in Philadelphia, he described being served “a Bowl of fine Lemon Punch big enough to have Swimmed half a dozen of young Geese.”
America’s first president, “George Washington”, was known to be fond of a drink or two, and sometimes more. He indulged in thirteen toasts — one for each state — during a victory celebration at New York’s Fraunces Tavern, and it is said that after he partook of Fish House punch at Philadelphia’s State in Schuylkill, he couldn’t bring himself to make an entry in his diary for the following three days.
The in Schuylkill Fish House Punch is traditionally made in a large bowl that did double duty as aas a baptismal font for the citizens’ infant sons. “Its an ample space . . . . . would indeed admit of total immersion,” as one citizen noted.
The Fish House was an august gentlemen’s society devoted to escaping domestic tribulation, but also to cigars, whiskey, and the occasional fishing foray upon the “Chesapeake Bay” or upon the “Restigouche River” in Canada. Another version states that it was created in 1848 by Shippen Willing of Philadelphia, to celebrate the momentous occasion of women being allowed into the premises of the “Fish House” for the first time in order to enliven the annual Christmas party. It was supposed to be just “something to please the ladies’ palate but get them livelier than is their usual wont.”
It’s never a good idea nor a safe idea to drink and drive. But if you do, you’d better know your limits. See Blood Alcohol Percentages in Beverages in the Miscellaneous Information category and the Drinks category.
