SFist Drinks: Old Sydney Town Punch

This week's cocktail recipe comes to us from H. Joseph Ehrmann, the bar manager at Elixir and director of Cocktail Ambassadors. Elixir is currently offering a Happy Hour punch deal -- $8 for two cups of a different punch each week between 4 and 7 p.m. Now, from H's mixologist notes:

This is a simple spiced punch that I named for the area of San Francisco that eventually became known as the Barbary Coast. Settled predominantly by Australian immigrants in the Gold Rush (mid 1840s to mid 1860s) who set the standard for depravity and debauchery, Old Sydney Town had all the hallmarks of the Barbary Coast legacy. Genever and Pimento Dram were two popular cocktail ingredients of the day and pineapples (here as pineapple gum syrup) were considered rare and dignified in the Victorian culture, making this punch a cocktail for all who weren't teetotalers. The Bols Company reintroduced Genever to the US this year as did Haus Alpenz reintroduce Pimento Dram (with the more contemporary "allspice" name), so this punch also acknowledges the return of some great cocktail ingredients.

Old Sydney Town Punch

1.5oz Bols Genever
0.5oz St. Elizabeth's Allspice Dram
0.75oz lemon juice
0.5oz orange juice
0.5oz pineapple gum syrup (find at Small Hands Foods)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass, fill with ice and shake well for 10 seconds. Strain into a punch glass and serve up with a slight grate of nutmeg.