Kirschwasser Punch
Shake, strain, ice, garnish with fruit.
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.
Johnson's New & Improved Illustrated Bartender's Manual.
- Yellow Raj — Blanco tequila, Herbal liqueur, Lime juice, Agave syrup
- Silver Monk — Blanco tequila, Herbal liqueur, Lime juice, Simple syrup, Mint, Cucumber, Salt
- Medicinal Sour — Herbal liqueur, Suze, Absinthe, Lime juice, Lemon juice, Anise syrup
- Rosarita — Tequila, Herbal liqueur, Lemon juice, Simple syrup, Rosemary
- Wake in Fright — Herbal liqueur, Jamaican rum, Blended rum, Fernet Vallet, Bitters, Lime juice, Lemon juice, Cinnamon syrup, Simple syrup, Hellfire Habanero Shrub
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.]
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.