How to Make the Bourbon Milk Punch

The Bourbon Milk Punch is cold, creamy, and lightly sweet, and it is a New Orleans brunch staple. It is also much older than brunch. Its story starts in English kitchens in the early 1700s and passes through Benjamin Franklin’s desk on the way.

It was around before the United States was

The term “milk punch” was in print by about 1700. The oldest surviving recipe for the clarified style, where milk is curdled and strained out to leave a clear, silky punch, was written down in 1711 by a housewife named Mary Rockett.

Franklin sent his own recipe to his friend James Bowdoin in October 1763. It called for brandy and lemon. In 1838, Queen Victoria named the firm of Nathaniel Whisson “purveyors of milk punch to Her Majesty.” Jerry Thomas included it in his 1862 bartender’s guide.

Two kinds of milk punch

The English style is clarified. The finished drink is clear, and only the silky texture gives away the dairy. Franklin’s is this kind, and craft cocktail bars have been bringing it back.

The Southern style keeps the milk in the glass. Cold, creamy, nutmeg on top. That is the one we are here for.

How New Orleans got hold of it

The drink did not start in Louisiana, but New Orleans made it famous. Arnaud’s has had milk punch on the menu since the 1930s. Brennan’s opened in 1946 and built its name on fancy egg dishes and what Imbibe calls civilized day-drinking.

Ti Martin of Commander’s Palace, whose mother Ella Brennan helped shape that tradition, says those breakfasts echoed grand Creole feasts, which sometimes began with an eye-opener like a brandy or bourbon milk punch. Other restaurants followed, and now it is a signature of the city.

What goes in the glass

Whole milk, a sweetener (simple syrup or powdered sugar), a spirit, and grated nutmeg. Some versions add a splash of cream and a little vanilla.

New Orleans has devoted fans of both brandy and bourbon versions. Brennan’s also serves a Caribbean Milk Punch made with rum and a bit of bourbon. At Bourbon House on Bourbon Street, there is a frozen version made with vanilla gelato, a local favorite since the restaurant opened in 2002.

Why bourbon works

Bourbon has vanilla and caramel notes. Milk punch has vanilla and nutmeg. They get along. Ti Martin describes it as cereal milk with vanilla, nutmeg, and bourbon, and I have not heard it put better.

Sip your way through Kentucky

If this puts you in a bourbon mood, here are some companions from my Kentucky shelf:

• Fall for the legend behind the Bourbon Old Fashioned.
• Try a Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned, a Kentucky distillery pour in the classic glass.
• Toast the Derby spirit with the Mint Julep.
• Explore the Kentucky Colonel, a two-ingredient bourbon classic with a Kentucky name.
• Read the tale of the Seelbach Cocktail, Louisville’s other best-told story.
• Follow the Urban Bourbon Trail through Louisville’s best bourbon bars.
• Browse more easy bourbon cocktails for your own home bar.

FAQ

What is in a Bourbon Milk Punch?
The classic New Orleans style uses whole milk, bourbon, a sweetener such as simple syrup or powdered sugar, and grated nutmeg. Many versions add a little cream and vanilla.

Where does milk punch come from?
The name was in use by about 1700, and the oldest known clarified recipe dates to 1711. The creamy style became a New Orleans brunch signature in the twentieth century. Arnaud’s has served it since the 1930s, and Brennan’s helped popularize it after opening in 1946.

Is a Bourbon Milk Punch the same as Benjamin Franklin’s milk punch?
They are cousins. Franklin’s 1763 recipe is the clarified English style, made with brandy and lemon and strained until clear. The New Orleans version keeps the milk in the glass.

Is it a brunch drink or a holiday drink?
Both. It is a year-round brunch favorite in New Orleans, and it also turns up at Mardi Gras and on holiday tables.

Why Lush Life loves it

Milk, bourbon, nutmeg, and more than three hundred years of history. I will take it at brunch.