Inspired by Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, this week’s cocktail recipe comes from Portobello Road Gin Master Blender Jake Burger. Just in time for Christmas, this hot gin punch takes time to make, but the effort certainly pays off as soon as the warming concoction touches your lips in the lead up to the festive season. Based on Dickens’ Mr Micawber’s guidelines given in David Copperfield, this drink features gin, madeira, brown sugar, lemons, and a selection of everybody’s favourite Christmas spices.
Peel into a saucepan the rinds of three lemons, cut very thin, and with as little as possible of the white coating between the peel and the fruit, attached
Add 100g of brown sugar, half a bottle of Portobello Road gin, quarter of a bottle of madeira, a teaspoon each of cinnamon and clove and grated nutmeg
Simmer this on a low heat until it’s starting to bubble
Then squeeze in the juice of the three lemons being sure to extract the pips
Stir the whole preparation well, cover it up for five minutes, and stir again
At this point you may taste
If not sweet enough, add sugar to your liking
Sieve through a muslin cloth
This can be done many days in advance and stored in a bottle in the refrigerator, then heated in a saucepan as and when needed
Serve in a heatproof glass or punch cup, being sure to warm the vessel before filling
Jonathan is Food Editor for The London Economic. Jonathan has run and contributed towards a number of blogs, and has written features for publications such as Eater London, The Guardian, i News, The Independent, GQ, Time Out London and more.
