Quoit Club Punch (Virginia)

The thirty members of the Richmond, Virginia, Quoit Club, founded in 1788, met every other Saturday from May until October “under the shade of some fine oaks,” as one visitor recalled, at Buchanan's Spring, right outside of town. There they would throw the heavy, ringlike quoits at posts, eat barbecue and drink themselves silly on Mint Julep, Toddy and this, the club's Punch, which was prepared with great skill by Jasper Crouch, their black cook.

12 lemons yellow peel
2 cups light raw sugar
16 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed and strained
1 (26 oz) bottle rum (750 mL)
1 (26 oz) bottle VSOP cognac (750 mL)
1 (26 oz) bottle rainwater dry Madeira (750 mL)

Using a sharp vegetable peeler, remove the yellow skin from the lemons, being careful not to remove the white pith.

Put the peels in a medium bowl and then cover with the sugar. Using a muddler, mash the lemon peel into the sugar to help extract the lemon oil.

Let the peels and sugar sit in a warm place for a few hours. Muddle again, then add the lemon juice to the lemon peel and sugar mixture. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Just before serving, fill the punch bowl one-third with ice. Add the lemon and sugar mixture and the bottles of rum, cognac and Madeira.

Stir well and serve.

Makes 12 cups.

Cook's Notes: For the rum, I like something in the “Planter's Best” style here, such as the Plantation Vintage 2000 Jamaican Rum or Appleton V/X, with just maybe a dollop of the “Pirate Juice” style, such as Smith & Cross rum or Pusser's Navy Rum, to spark it up.