Cooking Up History: Historic Happy Hour Cocktails | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Cooking Up History: Historic Happy Hour Cocktails

Cooking Up History: Historic Happy Hour Cocktails | Wisconsin Historical Society
EnlargeDrinks with garnishes

 

As the temperatures outside continued to climb, we began to keep an eye out for some recipes for historic refreshments. Our newspaper collection did not disappoint. We tried two of the many we found.

Hongkong Cooler

The Iron County News presented this refreshing twist on afternoon tea in 1915.

EnlargeHongKong Cooler Recipe

Hongkong Cooler in the Iron County News, May 1, 1915.

 

It calls for 1 quart of Ceylon tea. Ceylon tea was named after its country of origin, now Sri Lanka, and was a popular cheaper alternative to Chinese and Japanese teas, which had traditionally been imported and sold (learn more about the “Tea of Ceylon” in the 1904 Wauwatosa News). Its popularity and consequential availability are probably the reason Ceylon tea was used in this recipe because otherwise, you would likely expect a Chinese tea in a Hongkong Cooler. Either way, you better get started early if you want to enjoy this cocktail because the tea is mixed with sugar, lemon slices, cloves, and maraschino cherries, and needs to cool down. The cooled tea is then poured over shaved ice and rum, and decorated with some mint, which is first dipped in ice water and then in powdered sugar. Our hopes of a fancy looking cocktail with a small bouquet of beautifully frosted mint leaves were crushed when we saw the sugar form lumps on the herb. However, the sugar melts into the drink so fast that our disappointment soon did the same. To make it look more “elaborate and complicated,” the recipe suggests also adding 3 tablespoons of pineapple and a strip of candied orange peel.

EnlargeFinished drink

 

Pineapples were available canned ($0.19/can, see Wisconsin Tobacco Reporter) or fresh depending on the season. As there are no instructions in what form exactly the pineapple should be added, we decided to puree the fruit.

The candied orange peel was a little bit more time consuming than the addition of the pineapple, but since the goal was to make it look more complicated, we had to deal with the actual complication of making candied orange peel. A recipe can be found in the 1914 Watertown Weekly Leader. One suggestion we have when you follow that recipe: Don’t bother removing the white pith.

The result is a great cocktail, which is not only deliciously refreshing but is also very “elaborate and complicated in appearance.”

 

EnlargeHongkong Cooler ingredients

 

The Recipe in 2020:

  • 3 Tbs black tea
  • 4 Tbs sugar
  • 3 lemon slices
  • 2 cloves
  • 4 maraschino cherries
  • Shaved ice
  • Rum
  • Mint
  • 1 Tbs powdered sugar

Optional:

  • Candied orange peel
  • 3 Tbs pureed pineapple (canned or fresh)

Pour one quart of boiling water over three tablespoonfuls of Ceylon tea. Let steep four or five minutes, strain and cool, adding four tablespoonfuls of sugar, three slices of lemon, two cloves and four maraschino cherries.

When ready to serve, pour into tall glasses half full of shaved ice, add a dash of rum to each glass and decorate with mint that has been dipped first into iced water, then into powdered sugar.

A strip of candled orange peel and three tablespoonfuls of pineapple may be added if one wants to make the punch more elaborate and complicated in appearance. 

Not sure what to do with the leftover maraschino cherries? Check out our 1910 Grapefruit and Maraschino Cherry Salad.    

 

EnlargeMilk Punch Recipe

Milk Punch Recipe in the Wausau Pilot, August 10, 1922.

 

Milk Punch

Not in the mood for a fruity Hongkong Cooler? Try milk punch.

Even though it sounds like it came out of the Dairy State, milk punch originated in the UK in the late 17th century. It is traditionally made with milk, either brandy or bourbon, sugar, and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Taking a look at our digitized Wisconsin newspapers in Chronicling Americaone of the earliest mentions of milk punch was in the Manitowoc Pilot in 1867. The drink was referenced in conjunction with the women’s suffrage movement and was utilized as humorous propaganda against the movement’s agenda. The article states that if women were to vote, “every shop that sells milk punch should have to confine itself to the milk only” because the suffrage movement was tied to the temperance movement.

EnlargeMilk Punch Drink

 

Well, the recipe for milk punch we tried was published in the Wausau Pilot in 1922. The 19th amendment had been passed and prohibition was in full swing. This recipe may not call for any alcohol, but you could always tweak it to reflect the history of constitutional progress.

According to the recipe, 1 egg is beaten with 1 teaspoon of sugar, then shaken with shaved ice and milk. The mixture is served in a goblet and dusted with nutmeg.

The outcome is an interesting drink for sure but worth a try for those who enjoy a cold glass of milk. The nutmeg is crucial to the experience. 

 

EnlargeMilk Punch Ingredients

 

The Recipe in 2020

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • Shaved ice
  • Milk
  • Nutmeg

Beat thoroughly an egg with 1 teaspoon of sugar and add to this 2/3 of a goblet of shaved ice and milk. Cover the glass with a shaker and shake until the ice is nearly melted.

Dust the top with grated nutmeg.

Cheers!