Friday, March 16, 2012

The Tavern Hive: Punch Recipes


We hope everyone enjoyed Tavern Keeper Sabra Welch's lecture on the business of running a tavern.  As promised, here is her bibliography as well as a couple of punch recipes for you to try.

It's Friday -- get out your muddler and punch bowl and enjoy happy hour 18th century style.  And if you are going to gamble, remember to do so in private!



Punch Recipes
These receipts are taken from The Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary, by John Nott printed in England in 1723.

To make Punch Royal
Take three pints of the best brandy as much spring-water, a pint or better of the best lime juice, a pound of double refined sugar. This punch is better than weaker punch, for it does not so easily affect the Head, by reason of the large Quantity of Lime-juice, more than common and it is more grateful and comfortable for the stomach.

Note: This punch may be too tart for modern tastes but remember that punch making is an art.  Some experimentation may be in order to adjust the level of sweet or sour…. or even the ratio of spirits to water.   It is also, according to Mr. Nott, quite strong… so either have a designated driver if you serve this at a party… or plan for overnight guests.

Punch for Chambermaids
Take a quart of water, a quarter of a pint of Lime juice, squeeze in also the juice of a Sevil Orange and a lemon, put in 6 ounces of sugar. Strain all through a strainer 3 times til very clear, then put in a pint of brandy and ½ pint of white wine.


Note: Seville oranges or sour oranges are available from December to February.  If you are making this punch at other times of the year, use orange juice and increase the amount of lemon juice you add to keep the correct amount of sourness to the punch.  Start by adding an extra table spoon or two of lemon juice, taste and adjust if needed
   

Bibliography

Keeping Tavern in New England
in the
Eighteenth Century

Primary Sources:
At a Court Held at Punch Hall, in the Colony of Bacchus: The indictment and Tryal of Richard Rum, a Person of Noble Birth and Extraction Well Know Both to Rich and Poor throughout All America, Boston, 1724

Dickerson, Oliver Morton, ed. Boston under Military Rule, 1768-1769 as Revealed in a Journal of the Times, 1936; Westport, CT, 1971

Massachusetts, The Acts and Resolves, Public and Private, of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, 21 vols.  Boston, 1869-1921.

New Hampshire, [Provincial and State Papers], 40 vols. (Concord: State of New Hampshire, 1867-1943)
New Hampshire Gazette
New Hampshire Laws

Secondary Works:
                   
Bailyn, Bernard, The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson, Cambridge, MA, 1974
Conroy, David, W. In Public Houses, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill and London, 1995
Crane, Elaine Foreman, EbbTide in New England, Northeastern University Press, Boston, MA, 1993
Earle, Alice Morse, Stage-couch and Tavern Days, New York, 1900
Field, Edward, The Colonial Tavern…, Providence, RI, 1897
Garvin, Donna-Belle, and James L. Garvin, On the Road North of Boston, University of New England Press, Hanover and London, 1988
Gross, Robert A. The Minutemen and Their World, New York, 197
Salinger, Sharon V. Taverns and Drinking in Early America, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 2002
Thompson, Peter, Rum Punch & Revolution, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1999
Wood, Gordon S. The American Revolution, The Modern Press, New York, 2003


Images from Lewis Walpole Library

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Sunday's Hive March 11

It's hard to believe that this Sunday is the last Hive of the 2012 Winter season, though we will be announcing additional workshops and events for later this year.  We hope you all enjoyed this season's line up and being the busy bees that we are, have already started to plan 2013's programs.

Important news regarding this Sunday's Hive.  We have moved the start time up an hour and will be starting at noon and running till 3.  Our program will then be followed by another presentation, that you are also welcome to attend, sponsored by The Friends of Minute Man, on the archeology of the Park, including things relating to taverns.  We will be at the Minute Man Visitor Center on Route 2A in Lincoln, and NOT in our usual location in Concord.  (Seating is open on a first come first serve basis, we are not taking reservations)

Our schedule of speakers will be as follows:

11am - 12pm -- Meet & Greet

Noon - 12:45
Potent Potables: Emily Murphy
General Operations of a Tavern  - Sabra Welch

12:45-1:00 BREAK

1:00 - 2:30
Paying for your Supper: Colonial Money -- Matthew Mees
Busting the Myths of Gaming & Period Songs -- Niels Hobbs & Rob Welch

2:30pm -- 3pm -- Catch up with Friends

3pm -  4pm Town and Country - An Exploration of Archeological Collections by Alecia Parisi & Emily Murphy (Sponsored by the Friends of Minute Man) http://www.friendsofminuteman.org/

And don't forget to turn your clocks ahead on Saturday night and join us at NOON at the Minute Man Visitor Center on Route 2A for our final Hive of the season.

Any questions, please contact stephzsmith@gmail.com