Post #349370 by Haole'akamai on Thu, Dec 13, 2007 3:04 PM

So I've done some cursory reading. Let me begin with the

The Author's Note:
While most of the recipes in this collection may be confidently followed or comfortably adapted to modern cooking, and, indeed, the authors have substituted present-day ingredients whenever possible to replace the vague or archaic in the original, there are a few recipes which were included precisely because they are precious curio pieces. In such cases, we have made a sincere attempt to point out to the reader that the particular recipe is, above all, primarily of historic value. However, whenever possible, we have also adjusted the ingredients or the cooking methods of these rare recipes to accommodate the contemporary cook. Also, these recipes might contain some variance in the serving portions: conscientious care has been given this feature in order to please the taste of the more fastidious modern palate. Still, the reader is urged to try them, and, most important of all for the enjoyment of exotic cooking, to heartily experiment.

Also, both authors are from the culinary world, and not specifically bar aficionados. So take what they've written as you will.

from SDiGSF:
Pisco Punch, or the Perfect Paralyzer
Beginning in the 1970s, Pisco Punch was the most popular drink in town. (Duncan) Nichol(owner of The Bank Exchange Saloon and inventor of the insidious Pisco Punch)'s private recipe was often imitated but never equaled; its secret died with him ... Thomas W. Knox said, in Underground, or Life Below Surface: "It is perfectly colorless, quite fragrant, very seductive, terribly strong, and has a flavor somewhat resembling Scotch whiskey, but much more delicate, with a marked fruity taste." ...
At the turn of the century, it became too expensive to transport the liquor from Peru, so brandy from St. Helena, CA, in the Napa Valley, was substituted. Nearly any brandy would have suffices, however. We substitute this version of the punch for Nichol's:

** PISCO PUNCH
1 tablespoon Pernod
1 1/4 ounces Pisco Peruvian or other brandy
1 ounce Meyer's carawba or any grape juice
Shaved ice
6 ounces chilled pineapple juice
Coat the inside of an ample fizz glass with the Pernod by swirling the liquor around the glass. Discard any of the liquid that does not cling. Pour the brandy into the glass and add the grape juice. Fill the glass with shaved ice and pour chilled pineapple juice to the brim. serves 1.
**

Pisco Punch was not the only secret in Duncan Nichol's head. He also served something called Button Punch, again with a Pisco base. Rudyard Kipling ... waxed lyrical over Button Punch, commenting on it in his * From Sea to Sea*, published in 1899.