Ah good ole Milk Punch. Aka, Christmas Milk Punch with Bourbon.
Don't be dissuaded by the name of this drink. I was for many years. Milk Punch is one of the good things in life. It mixes its top four ingredients, cream (we can call it milk for calorie purposes, if you like), bourbon, vanilla, and sugar. All in a compact, adult beverage. If you have not yet tried Milk Punch, your time has come.
My mother and my father are very different. Which works really well on a lot of levels, but their tastes in food, while there are some compatabilities, are really far from each other. My mother doesn't really like meat and my dad is a European carnivore. He's more adventurous and my mom always wants the capellini pomodoro, extra basil. My dad enjoys a good beer or cocktail, my mother prefers water.
So it's no surprise that my father's longstanding family Christmas cocktail of Milk Punch, is not her favorite.
Every Christmas, about halfway through the morning, my dad puts on his green Christmas vest and says, "It's time for milk punch!" And my mom says,"Yuck!" Every year, like clockwork.
My dad's parents were all about experiencing tradition, they lived all over the world, and were excited to try something new. (Hence the name, MarnaMaria.) Well milk punch has been a Christmas tradition in my family for easily over a hundred years, and my grandparents were sure to pass it along.
I, loving traditions as well and wanting to be like my dad, was always game for the milk punch moment. Some years batches were better than others, but it didn't matter. It's not Christmas without milk punch.
Then I got married and my new husband was there for our first Christmas with my family. There are many key facts about Sean, but the relevant ones here are that he loves a good bourbon cocktail (who doesn't) and that he loves ice cream.
Milk punch time rolled around, my dad put his vest on, and Sean asked the beginner question of, "What is Milk Punch?"
My dad was thrilled. Sean tried his first milk punch and was easily on board. Heavy cream, bourbon, hint of nutmeg. Hello! This was not a hard question.
📖 Recipe
Christmas Milk Punch with Bourbon
- Prep Time: 5 Minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 Drink 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: Cocktails
Description
Don't be dissuaded by the name of this drink. I was for many years. Milk Punch is one of the good things in life. It mixes its top four ingredients, cream (we can call it milk for calorie purposes, if you like), bourbon, vanilla, and sugar. All in a compact, adult beverage. If you have not yet tried Milk Punch, your time has come.
Ingredients
- 1.5 ounces bourbon or brandy
- 0.5 oz amber rum
- 2 ounces cream, half & half, or milk (half & half is a good compromise)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. powdered sugar
- Dash of grated nutmeg
- Ice
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour in the bourbon, rum, cream, half & half, or milk, vanilla and powdered sugar.
- Shake vigorously until well chilled, about 30 seconds.
- Strain into a short glass or festive small goblet.
- Dust with nutmeg and serve cold.
Susie Lampros says
Tell your Dad that Susie Nelson says hello! Been a long, long, long time!
MarnaMaria Spices & Herbs says
I will! So cool!
Lourdes Hyles says
Thanks for the information, i am bookmarking it for future updates.