Squid Mixes: The Herald Punch

The Herald Punch was invented by Patsy Duffy, a bar owner in late-19th century New York.  He also wrote a tell-all autobiography devoted more to dirt on his famous patrons - John L. Sullivan, J.P. Morgan, Oscar Wilde and Tom Thumb among them - than any meaningful thoughts on mixology.  The Herald Punch, dedicated to the New York Herald newspaper, combines fresh orange juice, sugar, rye and rum.  I got my recipe, as well as the dish on Duffy, from Imbibe! by David Wondrich.

The drink is not so different in composition from the cold whiskey punch from a couple weeks ago.  The orange juice, though, allows for a more delicate and satisfying balance than the lemon juice.  Fortunately, we do not lack for oranges at the moment as we just got the delivery from our daughter's school band citrus sale.  Indian Grove: I'm pretty sure it's the same vendor we used back when I was in high school band. 

"Punches pack a wallop!" is my wife's review.  Historically, they were meant to, of course.  Thus the word?  Apparently not.  Punch as in hit is derived from the word pounce.  The word for the beverage, on the other hand, comes from Sanskrit: pança, which means five, as in five ingredients.  It is a word - and a drink - from England's imperialist legacy.