Bouligny Tavern's Dragon Milk Punch Bouligny Tavern’s manager and wine director, Cary Palmer, was looking at a bottle of rum so unruly that for the past 50 years, the main buyers for it were European pastry chefs, who used it in Belgian chocolates.
That changed when Lilette (Executive Chef John Harris’ other venture on Magazine Street) added a coconut-milky mussels dish on their menu, and Palmer found himself with a surplus of the sweet milk. He wanted a creative pairing for it.
That’s when he thought of Batavia Arrack van Oosten rum, a fiery spirit distilled from Indonesian red rice and sugarcane. The full name suggests its use, centuries ago, in Swedish milk punches, but as sweeter, easier rums came on the market, the 100-proof Batavia Arrack fell out of favor.
Batavia Arrack rum is “unapproachable on its own; it’s a challenge to calm,” said Palmer. “It needs a lot of buffer.”
That padding in the Dragon Milk Punch comes by way of the creamy coconut milk, but make no mistake: this is no tiki drink. It’s not a prissy piña colada.
Instead, the Batavia Arrack lends a Scotch-like spiciness to this Asian milk punch. Simple syrup, lime and a variety of sweet herbs only take the barest edge off this rugged, masculine drink.
You’ll find that it wakes your mouth as an aperitif, and won’t cloud your taste buds if you take it with dinner - consider it an equal match to rich, fried foods like Bouligny Tavern’s gouda beignets or fritto misto.
Dragon Milk Punch
Written by Cary Palmer, courtesy of Bouligny Tavern
- 2 cardamom pods
- 3 basil leaves
- 3 cilantro leaves
- 2-3 mint leaves
- 1 slice lime, peel on
- .5 ounce simple syrup
- 1 ounce Batavia Arrack rum
- 3 ounces coconut milk
Muddle cardamom, basil, cilantro, mint, lime and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add rum and milk, shake vigorously and strain into tall glass over large ice cubes.
Serves 1
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