Medicinal Alcoholic Drinks: American Milk Punch
Some Cocktails Can Make You Feel Better, and Some Even Taste Good
Sep 29, 2008
Every Irish immigrant knew what to do for a sore throat. They would warm some milk, put it in a sturdy glass, add a large measure of Irish whiskey and float an enormous knob of butter on top. Then, they'd drink the warm milk and whiskey through the melting butter. Voila! End of sore throat...at least until the effects of the butter coating wore off and the tiny buzz from the whiskey was gone. But it's easy to see how it would make one feel better; just succeeding at choking down the warm butter would be a start, and almost as courageous as drinking a glass of Cynar for upset stomach.
Bahamians have a similar concoction, useful for colds, flu and bronchitis. Add the juice of one lemon to two fingers of bourbon in an old-fashioned glass and mix well with a big dollop (the size depending on your sweet tooth) of honey. Drink. Sleep. Feel better when you wake up...or forget you even cared.
Irish "Medicine" From the Liquor Cabinet
The Irish seem to have something of a corner on the homemade medicinal drink market. Their cure for seasickness involves two alcohols, although it doesn't so much cure the seasickness, as restore one's humanity after one has arrived back on dry land. They mix equal parts of ruby port and brandy and drink it. The taste is foul, but it seems to send blood coursing back through veins gone limp from inner ear turmoil and even the odd upchuck. In fact, it's rather magical; however, it would be anything but that to someone who didn't actually need to recover from a bout of seasickness.
British Restorative Booze
A restorative when one is hungover, or suffering during cold weather, was invented by writer Kingsley Amis, who wrote a whole book about the magic of booze called Everyday Drinking. By the way, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth a few years before he died.
In any case, Amis' hangover cure entailed making Bovril in a mug, stirring in a couple of shakes of Worcester sauce and squeezing in some lemon juice. The lemon juice was optional. And one can substitute any robust beef bouillion for Bovril, which is hard to get outside the U.K.
All American Tasty Cure-All
American Milk Punch is another palliative recommended by Amis. But he doesn't recommend it for curing anything, but rather as a spiritual pick-me-up before air travel or being interviewed (in the media, not, heaven forbid, for a job) or any other vaguely upsetting event one must get through. He advises making a tray of ice cubes out of milk rather than water ahead of time. Then mix four parts fresh milk with one part bourbon and one part cooking brandy. Plunk in a couple of the "milk cubes" and garnish with grated nutmeg. He also notes that it is good to drink during visits from relatives one might not want to see. Give them some and loosen them up; take some yourself, and perhaps you won't care as much who they are or what they are doing or even why they're in your house.
Better still, it actually tastes good.
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