Fish House Punch comes from Philadelphia’s Fish House Club, the Colony in Schuylkill or Schuylkill Fishing Company, founded in 1732. It started as a men’s fishing club by a few of the city’s original settlers. The small group’s intent was to “spend an idyllic day every now and then, dawdling on the banks of the Schuylkill River …shooting game birds and fishing and cooking their catch for dinner, with no wives or servants present.”
Schuylkill and the Fish House Punch
City development, pollution, and overfishing have caused the club to move its location several times over the years. But, the citizens (as club members are called) still gather along the Schuylkill. They feast on barbecued pork, grilled steaks, planked shad, and perch “thrown” in skillets. It’s all prepared by club members and served with the group’s famous (and very potent) Fish House Punch.
Fish House Punch Gilded Age Cookbook Recipe
- Yield: 1 Cocktail 1x
Description
A cocktail that packs a punch!
Ingredients
- Crushed ice
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 oz brandy
- 1 oz light rum
- 1 oz peach brandy
- Lemon slice for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with crushed ice.
- Add the lemon juice, sugar, brandy, rum, and peach brandy.
- Shake well to mix ingredients, then strain into a stemless wine or cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a slice of lemon.
Recipe From The Gilded Age Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from America’s Golden Era 1868-1900 by Becky Libourel Diamond is published by Globe Pequot
Photography by Heather Raub of FrontRoom Images
Food Styling by Dan Macey of dantasticfood
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