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Gin Punch

A chilled gin punch made with old gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, lemon rind, syrup, German seltzer water, and ice.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Gin and syrup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 127 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Gin Punch

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large pitcher, combine the old gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and lemon rind.

  2. Add the syrup and stir well.

  3. Slowly pour in the German seltzer water.

  4. Serve over ice.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Gin + syruptop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together127 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Lemon + syruptop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,235 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Gin + lemontop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together306 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Old gin
Provides the main spirit base and the dominant aroma of the punch.
Maraschino liqueur
Adds sweetness and a subtle cherry-almond aroma that rounds out the spirit.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the punch and balances the sweetness of the syrup and liqueur.
Syrup
Adds sweetness to balance the acidity of the lemon juice and the strength of the gin.
German seltzer water
Adds carbonation, giving the punch lightness and a lively fizz.

The step that matters

Slowly pour in the German seltzer water.. Carbonation is lost quickly when liquid is agitated or poured vigorously, so a gentle pour keeps the punch fizzy. Adding it last, after the other ingredients are mixed, preserves the most bubbles.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (gin, syrup):

  1. Limefits about as well
  2. Lemonthe original
  3. Vanillafits about as well
  4. Cherryfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against gin, syrup. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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