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Why add milk, to a citrusy alcoholic beverage?
 

Curds and Whey 

A modern reason for making a milk punch is the delayed gratification. A project to experiment with. It’s not something you will be consuming the same day. From a historical perspective Noted Drinkers like (insert name of politician or author from the 1700’s here) liked to be able to have a drink that could be rested and consumed later, in spite of a lack of refrigeration. Ultimately, the curds gone, the whey offers something more to the melange of flavors.
 
Benjamin Franklin Milk Punch

Benjamin Franklin’s Milk Punch Recipe (Image credit Massachusetts Historical Society – Bowdoin-Temple papers in the Winthrop family papers)

The oldest known mention of Milk Punch dates back to Thomas Brown William Sacheverell’ s 1688 writings about the Scottish island of Iona. (An Account of the Isle of Man, 1702)
 
Old English milk punch recipes are a constant in craft cocktail bars in New York, New Orléans and Los Angeles. Milk Punch has been a New Orléans tradition for as long as anyone there can recall.
 
Journeyman and the adjoining Backbar in Somerville, Massachusetts have listed milk punch recipes on their menu for over 100 years. 
 
Here’s a variation on Mary Rocket t‘s (circa 1711) recipe to batch up for future imbibing: 
 
Clarified Milk Rum Punch
 

Clarified Milk Punch

Yield – 25 servings (If you’re serving Bartenders, then 10 servings): 
 
2 lemons – Peel skin off carefully leaving as little pith as possible. Refrigerate the peeled lemons (You’ll need both the skins and the juice for this recipe). 
 
32 oz Remy Martin V.S.O.P. Cognac or Motu Rum – In large container combine with pithless lemon peels. Seal tight and allow to steep for 48 hours. 
 
After 48 hours combine lemon-peel infused spirit with: 
2 cups Demerara 2:1 sugar syrup. Before adding sugar, steep in a handful of loose-leaf chamomile tea until flavor permeates.
 
Syrup Method – 2:1 dilution – lightly boil water and stir in sugar until it dissolves. Again, as a general recommendation – steep flavors into the water before adding sugar
 
And add: 
3 oz  fresh squeezed lemon juice 
 
Next :
Add 32oz heated whole milk. 
 
Method:
Pour heated milk over lemon-peel infused spirit, tea syrup and lemon juice. It will curdle. 
Strain through fine cheesecloth or paper towels. This may take days to achieve perfect clarity. For overnight filtration, source a BioDeisel bag. Put in serving container and refrigerate. To serve, pour Milk Punch into sherry glasses. If Punch is too thick introduce some soda water. 
 
Garnish:
1 Brandied Cherry.
1 nutmeg, freshly grated over top of drink with microplane (Optional)
 Motu Rum Clarified Milk Punch

Motu Rum

We tried out this newly available rum because of the unique characteristics it holds. Banana and dried vegetative notes yield to a sweet nose that is totally absent on the palate. This is one of the driest rums we’ve tasted.

Tonga Island Rum started as a small-scale rum for Polynesian royalty. Trademarked and registered in August of 2014 by Branded Spirits (USA), Motu Rum is now easier to get in North America. Motu is a mid-level priced amber rum that uses Polynesian sugar cane molasses as its base and aged in French limousine oak.

Fun Fact: The entire title of the first book to mention Milk Punch, is the tedious: 
“An account of the Isle of Man : its inhabitants, language, soil, remarkable curiosities, the Succession of its Kings and Bishops, down to the present Time. By way of essay. With a Voyage to I-Columb-Kill. By William Sacheverell Esq; Late Governour of man. To which is added, a dissertation about the Mona of Cæsar and Tacitus; and an Account of the Antient druids, &c. By Mr. Thomas Brown. Address’d in a letter to his Learned Friend Mr. A. Sellars”
 

Clarified Milk Punch, drink your whey