Episode 61 - A Swedish Punsch in the Mouth or A Tale of Two Tough Cocktails

The Cast of Characters

Swedish Punsch.  The Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure have used this ingredient before and thought, “Why not use it again?”  In fact, there are two drinks back to back in Ted Haigh’s book “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails” that use it.  You can purchase the book right here.

First up is the Doctor Cocktail.  There are a few variations of this drink, and the Gents may come back to this one for the sake of comparison. This drink is a Trader Vic variation of one that was promoted by Frank Meier of the Ritz Bar in Paris in 1936.  Let’s credit them both shall we?

Doctor Cocktail
by Frank Meier and Victor Bergeron. (from Ted Haigh’s “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails”)

2 ounces Jamaica rum
1 ounce Swedish Punsch
1 ounce lime juice

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist.

What do you get when you mix rum, Swedish Punsch and lime juice together?  As far as the Gents are concerned, not much.  Misery maybe?  Sadness?  Disappointment for sure.  Loads of disappointment.  The lime seemed to come on way too strong and easily overpowered whatever sweetness was coming from the Punsch.  The rum was definitely there, but for the Gents, the drink came off like sour rum.  Had they called it a Rum Sour, maybe this would work better.  As Doctor Cocktail, you’d be better of going to the walk in clinic down the street.  Try it and leave a comment.  Perhaps the Gents missed the point.  They are always willing to learn. 

What's my problem you ask, Doctor? It hurts when I drink. That's my problem!

Next up is the Diki-Diki Cocktail.  This one sounds like a Tiki drink, but it isn’t.  It’s got Calvados in it.  You remember Calvados, the apple brandy?  Here it’s mixed with Swedish Punsch and grapefruit juice!

Diki-Diki Cocktail
from Ted Haigh’s “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails”

1 1/2 ounces Calvados
1/2 ounce Swedish Punsch
3/4 ounce grapefruit juice

Shake well in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass.

What do you get when you mix Calvados, Swedish Punsch and grapefruit juice together?  As far as the Gents are concerned, not much, but it’s better than the Doctor Cocktail.  Its’ sweeter, so it’s a little bit more pleasant to drink.  The Swedish Punsch gets a chance to come through so there’s a little hint of rum with the apple brandy and the grapefruit lends a little bit of tartness.  Still, the Gentlemen were a little disappointed with this drink too.  Maybe it was because they were down a man.  Gentlemen Fred was in Hawaii for this episode but was able to be in the episode through the magic of the internet.

Meet Diki and Diki.

Please try both these cocktails a leave a comment about which one you prefer.  Gentleman Fred will be back in town and ready to drink for the next show.  See you then!

The Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure harness the power of the internet for your listening pleasure.