Chatham Artillery Punch
AKA The Best Holiday Punch You’ve Ever Had

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PRE-ORDER BY 9 PM 12/20
For pickup 12/23-12/24
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The epic, party-starting, punch-to-end-all-punches: Chatham Artillery Punch. But what is this Chatham, you ask, and why does it come bearing artillery?

In the mid-nineteenth century, an all-volunteer Savannah regiment called the Republican Blues, organized in 1808 and stationed at Fort Jackson, visited Macon. The modus operandi of many of these old Savannah units was as much social and fraternal as military, so the Blues were greeted with much fanfare by the Chatham Artillery unit. An obliging local patriot by the name of A.H. Luce "proposed to brew a new punch in honor of the Blues," and the Chatham Artillery Punch was born.

There are a variety of recipes to be found for this punch—all different from this original, robust version—primarily because successive generations found its intoxicating power a little too, well, intoxicating. As drink historian David Wondrich notes in this quotation from the headnote on a 1907 recipe: "Experience has taught the rising generation to modify the receipt of their forefathers to conform to the weaker constitutions of their progeny." (Ouch.) Most modernized Chatham Artillery recipes are weaker than the original formula, which is certainly strong enough to stand up to an artillery regiment. Or two.

We are making sure that this punch is made with the best possible ingredients so you can get the tastiest results. For the brandy, we use Laird’s Apple Jack; for the bourbon we use Elijah Craig Small Batch. As for the rum, you need a Jamaican style and so we use Hampden Estate Rum Fire. For the sparkling wine, Champagne is truly delicious—you're not just topping off with the stuff. So, we are using Crede Valdobbiadene Brut Bisol

And finally, imbibe cautiously! As the Augusta Chronicle noted when it printed this recipe: "As a vanquisher of men its equal has never been found."
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Punch Kit ($95)
Elijah Craig Private Barrel Bourbon, St Louise 6 Yr Brandy, Rum Fire Overproof, Worthy Park 109 Proof Rum, Fresh Citrus, Sparkling Wine
*makes over half a gallon of full-strength punch which is good for groups of four to eight.