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{{Short description|Historic Chicago Liqueur}}
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{{Infobox beverage
{{Infobox beverage

Revision as of 22:00, 19 May 2024

Cohasset Punch
A modern bottle of Cohasset Punch
TypeLiqueur
Country of origin Chicago, Illinois, United States
Introduced1899
Alcohol by volume 30%
Proof (US)60
Websitecohassetpunch.com

Cohasset Punch is a brand of rum-based drink introduced in 1899. First created by Chicago bartenders Lewis A. Williams and Thomas C. Newman, Cohasset Punch was long associated with the Ladner Bros. bar, who produced it until the 1980s.[1] Though officially classified as a liqueur, Cohasset Punch can also be considered a bottled cocktail or punch. In 2024, bottled Cohasset Punch was relaunched under new ownership.[2]

History

In the late 1890s, Chicago saloon owner and liquor dealer Lewis A. Williams was invited to spend a few weeks at the Cohasset, Massachusetts summer estate of long-time family friend,[3] actor William H. Crane.[4] Williams overheard some of Crane’s other guests discussing rum punch. Williams wired Tom Newman, his business partner back in Chicago, to request a mixed drink that would “surpass anything ever before imbibed by any living soul.”[4] Within 24 hours, a cask of the new punch was loaded onto a railcar and bound for Cohasset. Upon tasting the new concoction, Crane and his guests declared Newman the “king of blenders.” Crane wired Newman his thanks and asked for the name of the new drink, and Newman simply wired back the name, “Cohasset”.[4]

Williams & Newman began mixing Cohasset Punch at their saloon, serving the blend over a peach slice soaked in brandy.[5] By the fall of 1899 they were selling Cohasset Punch in bottles, with modest but nationwide distribution.[1] From the very beginning, each bottle had an image of Cohasset’s famous Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse on the label. In 1902 a leading liquor trade journal remarked that so high was the demand for Cohasset Punch in Chicago, that “what the mint julep is to the South, Cohasset Punch is to Chicago.”[4] Recipes appeared for Cohasset Punch in bar guides that included sweet vermouth, New England rum, lemon juice, and orange bitters,[6] but bar regulars believed it to not taste the same.[5] Of the drink’s smoothness compared to its 60-proof strength, a 1938 letter to the Chicago Tribune wrote, “After three or four of them, a pleasant mellowness steals over you, your imagination glows, you discover humor you never possessed. When you finally get up to go, lo, your legs are merely attached to your body for appearance’s sake.”[7]

After Williams & Newman retired in 1916, they sold the rights to the Ladner Bros. bar on Madison Street in the Chicago Loop, who continued to serve the drink at their bar as well as bottle for distribution. The bar reopened after Prohibition, and a large neon sign touting “The Home of Cohasset Punch” was hung outside.[2] Ladner Bros. was demolished in 1986[8] by developer Lee Miglin to make way for the proposed (but never built) 125-story Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle.[9] Production of Cohasset Punch ceased production shortly thereafter.

In 2024, the Cohasset Punch brand was revived by a Chicago-based cocktail history enthusiast using historical accounts of its flavor and ingredients.[10][11]

Serving

Historically, Cohasset Punch has been served stirred with ice and strained into a cocktail glass over a peach slice. In the early 20th century, this garnish would have likely been a peach slice preserved in brandy.[1] In the 1970s and 80s, Cohasset Punch was increasingly served on the rocks or with mixers.[12] The current manufacturer suggests a number of cocktails that can be made with Cohasset Punch.[13]

Cultural References

Cohasset Punch is mentioned in Saul Bellow’s Chicago-set debut novel, Dangling Man (1944):

And here was the scene, predictable to the last detail, hours, days, weeks before — the light furniture in the popular Swedish style, the brown carpet, the Chagall and Gris prints, the vines trailing from the mantelpiece, the bowl of Cohasset Punch.[14]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c Wondrich, David (2022). "Cohasset Punch". In Wondrich, David; Rothbaum, Noah (eds.). The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails. New York, NY, United States of America: Oxford University Press. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-0-19-931113-2.
  2. ^ a b "History". Cohasset Punch. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Crane, William H. (1927). Footprints and Echoes. New York: E.P. Dutton & Company. pp. 55–56.
  4. ^ a b c d "The Origin of Cohasset Punch". Bonfort's Wine & Spirit Circular. August 10, 1902.
  5. ^ a b Fougner, G. Selmer (November 11, 1938). "Along the Wine Trail". New York Sun.
  6. ^ Sheridan, J.E. (1901). The Complete Buffet Manual. Chicago: Henneberry. pp. 47–48.
  7. ^ "A Line O' Type or Two". Chicago Tribune. August 17, 1938.
  8. ^ Davis, Jerry C. (March 17, 1986). "Prohibition-era Cohasset Punch to fall for W. Madison skyscraper". Chicago Sun-Times.
  9. ^ Davis, Jerry C. (May 23, 1989). "New skyscraper planned—would tower over Sears". Chicago Sun-Times.
  10. ^ Hammond, David (January 12, 2024). "Want to party like it's 1899? One Chicagoan is working to revive Cohasset Punch liqueur". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  11. ^ Hurt, Jeanette (April 28, 2024). "Drinks Historian Revives Chicago's Signature Cocktail, Cohasset Punch". Forbes. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  12. ^ Riggs, Rod (November 24, 1986). "Pushing an old punch". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  13. ^ "Recipes". Cohasset Punch. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  14. ^ Bellow, Saul (1944). Dangling Man. Signet Book. ISBN 978-0-451-04231-6.
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