Back in 2020, I developed a series of three drinks for my Lords of Misrule series, including this recipe, which was originally a single-serving punch. Its ingredients tell the story of the late Tudor (i.e. Elizabethan) period, when the English became the dastardly colonizers we now know them to be. In this large-format version, brandy (either Spanish or French) comes together with funky Batavia arrack (the original punch base!), oxidized sherry, Swedish Punsch (a punch within a punch), allspice dram, tea, and sugar for a punch with notes of dried fig, tropical fruit, nuts and spices, and a hint of smokiness.

If you were around for Scotch month back in February, you’ll know that I love smoky flavors with grapefruit. This drink takes its structure from the Corpse Reviver No. 2, but borrows the Diki-Diki’s unique combination of Calvados, punsch, and grapefruit. I named this one after Gilbert Rumbold, who illustrated The Savoy Cocktail Book.

I’m not a huge fan of the oft recycled origin stories for cocktails, but I have a soft spot for the one behind the Bentley, which inspired this cocktail. The British racing team won Le Mans in 1927 and the celebration at the Savoy included a signature cocktail built on Calvados and Dubonnet rouge. I took the original formula and added dimension with flavors of juniper, tea, citrus, and black pepper.

Strong, stirred drinks featuring multi-spirit bases are all over The Savoy Cocktail Book. This one was particularly inspired by the Twelve Miles Out cocktail, which featured Calvados, Bacardi rum, and Swedish punsch, and was named for an American silent film that debuted in 1927. Ours is a smoky apple tribute to the stirred and strong drinks served at the Savoy, hence the name.

Here’s a nice little aperitif with multiple inspirations behind it. It’s an ode to the apple brandy highballs from The Savoy Cocktail Book, but also pays tribute to the Norman tradition of Calva-Tonic. We double up the quinine in this version, which gets its tannic baseline from rouge quinquina.

This is the second in my Improved Cocktail series in the spring of 2021. With deep, dark flavors, this Improved Brandy Cocktail - Iberian edition - emphasizes the importance of products from Portugal and Spain in the history of the American Cocktail and, before that, in Punch and early modern drinking history, generally.

“Capitaine of Mischeefe” was another term for the Lord of Misrule, who presided over festivities from Christmas Day through Twelfth Night, and sometimes all the way through Candlemas (in early February). This is the second in my Lords of Misrule series: a punch that tells the story of the expansion of products due to colonization by European nations that occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries.