There’s hardly anything out there being as much anticipated on a yearly basis as the first real summer days. Whether meteorologically it’s still spring does not change the anticipation: As soon as the sun shines everyone is attracted to parks, balconies, street cafés or just goes out for the countryside. To accompany this feeling there is surely a wide range of drinks out there that work really well, and given the nice weather today, I have decided for a very special cocktail that actually isn’t so light and lively as one might expect on or associate with a sunny day. Nevertheless it is absolutely delicious: The Fedora Punch.

The Fedora punch goes back to Carl A. Seutter, who published the recipe in his 1909 recipe book “Der Mixologist”. Seutter was a German cocktail author who gained extensive experience traveling the U.S.A. while working in various bars throughout the country. The recipe I’ve followed here is an adaptation by Bastian Heuser, Helmut Adam and Jens Hasenbein published in their book “Cocktailian – Das Handbuch der Bar”.

The drink offers a pretty potent combination of Jamaican rum, bourbon whiskey, cognac and orange curacao. Together with some pineapple syrup (make it yourself! It’s worth it!), freshly squeezed lemon juice and seasonal fruits it results in a truly harmonious flavor bomb. Try it (but take into account, however, that this should be the only drink this evening as it really “will let the sun shine”)! I’ve used fresh rhubarb, kiwi, lime pieces and some raspberries. I’ve placed the raspberries in a nest of ice – a trick I have seen performed by Simone Caporale of the Artesian in London: Simply put some crushed ice in a citrus press and firmly press together. Then carefully remove the ice nest.

Recipe:

2 cl Jamaica Rum
2 cl Bourbon Whiskey
3 cl Cognac
2 cl orange curacao
1 cl pineapple syrup
3 cl lemon juice

Preparation:

Shake all ingredients in a shaker with crushed ice and strain into a glass filled with fresh crushed ice. Try to place some fruits between different layers of ice when filling up your glass with your fresh crushed ice.

Glass: Highball

Garnish: Seasonal fruits in bite-sized pieces.

Buying sources: Jamaican Rum (I’ve chosen Myers’s), Bourbon (here I have used Four Roses), cognac (I chose a Courvoisier VSOP) and Orange Curacao should be available in well-stocked supermarkets, at your favorite spirits retailer or on the Internet. Try to use fresh fruits and avoid canned ones!