Name: Fish House Punch
Ingredients: 1 ½ pints lemon juice; 1 pound powdered sugar; sufficient water; ½ pint brandy; ½ pint peach brandy; ½ pint Jamaica rum; 4 tablespoons Angostura bitters; 2 pints cold water; Ice

Why it works: Brandy and rum are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,058 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Fish House Punch

Ingredients

Directions

Dissolve the powdered sugar in sufficient water.
Combine the lemon juice, brandy, peach brandy, Jamaica rum, Angostura bitters, and cold water in a large pitcher.
Add the dissolved sugar mixture and stir well.
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.

Brandy + rumtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,058 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Peach + rumtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together84 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Lemon + peachtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together947 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Brandy + peachtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together339 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + rumtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,908 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Lemon juice: Provides the sharp acidity that balances the sugar and spirits.
Powdered sugar: Adds sweetness and rounds out the acidity of the citrus.
Brandy: Contributes the base spirit body and warm fruity aroma.
Jamaica rum: Adds depth and a funky, molasses-like richness to the punch.
Angostura bitters: Adds aromatic spice and complexity that lifts the flavor.