Cocktail Recipe: Nick & Toni's Gramercy Milk Punch

Milk Punch has an illustrious history in the cocktail canon. The crystal clear concoction dates back to the 1600s in England and has recently been embraced by lofty programs in most cities. Honest Man Hospitality’s Beverage Director Chimene Macnaughton was kind enough to share Nick & Toni’s version of milk punch with us.

“The batch recipe below makes approximately 8–10 cocktails as pictured, about 3.5 oz each,” Macnaughton explains. “We finish each drink with aromatized Chartreuse Végétal misted into the glass before adding ice (optional).”

Ingredients:

10 oz Suntory Roku Japanese Gin
7.5 oz Eve’s Cidery NY Apple Cider (hard cider must be bone dry, not sweet!)
2.5 oz Busnel Calvados
2.5 oz Rich simple syrup (2:1 sugar to water)
2.5 oz Fresh squeezed lime juice
6.25 oz Ronnybrook Creamline whole milk (freshest high fat milk is a must!)
Ice cubes (Pro tip: Clarify ice cubes by double-boiling distilled or filtered water before freezing.)

Glassware & Tools:

Use double old-fashioned or crystal stemless glassware.

Make a double-fine strainer with a Chinois or similar fine mesh strainer layered with an unbleached coffee filter, or use a nut bag to filter and clarify milk solids away from the punch base.

Choose a wide-mouthed glass jar for straining and easy storage.

Clarification:

Begin with milk measured into a large glass prep bowl. Combine all ingredients except milk in a large mixing tin.

To curdle the milk, slowly pour the punch base into the milk, stirring gently. Mixture should have the textured look of shattered egg shells.

Let stand for 15–20 minutes, or until milk is fully curdled, then gently stir before beginning the straining step.

Secure Chinois over a glass storage vessel or hang nut bag so that the glass jar captures all the runoff liquid.

Gently pour the curdled punch mix over a double layer strainer or into a nut bag.

Be patient while the mixture is straining! The gorgeously silky, supple mouthfeel of your finished punch will be worth all the “what the what!?” moments this process inspires, we promise.

Making the Drink:

In a mixing tin or shaker, pour 3.5 oz of clarified milk punch over ice.

Stir with a bar spoon until chilled, strain over clarified ice and serve!

The subtlety of the combined component flavors is the goal, so we serve the Gramercy Milk Punch with no garnish, but you can mist the glass with Chartreuse or your favorite aromatized bitters to add another layer of flavor.

Milk punch will keep for about 8 weeks in airtight glass jar, longer if refrigerated.

For more Nick & Toni’s cocktails, visit nickandtonis.com.