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Kirschwasser Punch

1 oz Kirschwasser
3⁄4 oz Herbal liqueur, Chartreuse
3⁄4 oz Lime cordial
1⁄2 oz Lime juice
Instructions

Shake, strain, ice, garnish with fruit.

Notes

The original calls for lime or lemon sherbet and specifies yellow Chartreuse (3 to 4 dashes), but green makes for a nice Last Word variation.

Cocktail summary
Created by
Harry Johnson.
Year
1888
Is an
altered recipe
Reference

Johnson's New & Improved Illustrated Bartender's Manual.

Curator
Not yet rated
User rating
5 stars
(1 rating)
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Comments
drinkingandthinking commented on 3/29/2025:

OMG this is insanely good! I love cherry, but most drinks taste syrupy. This one is outstanding. The proportions are a bit "interpretive" after looking at the original text, but my homemade cordial was well balanced and fresh and the additional lime made it perfect. I used the original yellow chartreuse but maybe I'l try the green next time.

Shawn C commented on 3/29/2025:

In case there is any confusion, actual kirsch or kirschwasser is never syrupy unless someone adds something sweet to it. It is a very dry eau-de-vie distillate, and doesn't have added sugar or cherry infusion as one would have in maraschino liqueur, cherry brandy, or cherry liqueur. It generally has more of cherry stone/pit flavor (like Slivovitz) rather than cherry.

Johnson's original punch recipe is considerably different with a lot less lime and a lot more Kirschwasser. Reading through it there is no "lime cordial" (which is fine since it is not defined in the posted recipe). Instead one is effectively making a cordial with 1.5 tablespoons sugar, and a 2:1 ratio of Yellow Chartreuse to lime or lemon juice (*3-4 "dashes" Chartreuse vs. 1-2 "dashes" citrus.) then diluted with enough water added to dissolve the sugar. Ice is then added to the "large bar glass", 1.5 "wine glass" kirschwasser is added, and stirred before inserting a straw and adding fruit garnish. [*The book uses dashes for nearly everything but base spirits. For example, its lemonade recipe is "1 1/2 table-spoonful of sugar; 6 to 8 dashes of Lemon juice" which would put a dash at around half a teaspoon." So the dash here is likely around half a teaspoon or a little more.]