Guinness punch

Ingredients

The base

• 660 mlGuinness Foreign Extra Stout
• or 2 bottles of stout
• 1 tincondensed milk, 397 g
• 250 mlevaporated milk
• or 250 ml whole milk

To flavour

• 1 teaspoongrated nutmeg
• 2 teaspoonsvanilla
• 1/2 teaspoonground cinnamon
• a pinch of salt

Sometimes added

• 2 tablespoonsoats, soaked
• 1 tablespoonpeanut punch base
• a splash of rum
• a strip of lime peel

To serve

• plenty of ice
• grated nutmeg, to finish

Directions

1. Warm punch is unpleasant and foams badly. Chill everything for at least three hours. Opening the stout takes a light hand.
2. Pour it gently down the side of a jug. That keeps the foam right down. Let it settle for a full minute. Pour the stout into a blender. Add the tin of condensed milk.
3. Add the evaporated milk to it. Add the nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon. Add the pinch of salt as well. Blending it takes only seconds. Blend it in short sharp bursts. Give it about fifteen seconds in total.
4. Pour everything into a large jug. Whisk it hard with a balloon whisk. Taste it once it is fully mixed. It should be sweet but not cloying.
5. Add more stout if it is too sweet. Add more condensed milk if it is too bitter. Grate in more nutmeg if it tastes flat. It must be very freshly grated. Grate it directly over the jug.
6. Soak the oats in a little milk first. Give them twenty minutes to soften. Blend them in with all the rest. Refrigerate the finished punch for an hour.
7. Stir the jug well before pouring. Fill glasses with plenty of ice. Pour the punch over all the ice. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top. It keeps two days refrigerated. Stir it well each and every time. Never drive after drinking it.

Technique

• Foreign Extra Stout is around seven percent alcohol, and the milk and sugar hide it completely so the drink goes down like a milkshake; people routinely drink more than they intend.
• Guinness punch is widely called a strengthening drink and is sometimes recommended to nursing mothers, but none of that is supported by evidence: stout is not a nutritional supplement, alcohol passes into breast milk, and health services advise against drinking in pregnancy; a non-alcoholic version made with malt drink is genuinely popular.
• Condensed milk is reduced with sugar added while evaporated milk is reduced without it, so they are not interchangeable; both are used here, one to sweeten and thicken and one to loosen and enrich.

Substitutions

• Malta or any malt drink replaces the stout for a non-alcoholic version.
• Whole milk stands in for evaporated milk, giving a thinner punch.

Variations

• Soaked oats blended in make a heavier version closer to a meal.
• Some bars add a spoonful of peanut punch base.
• A splash of rum is added in some households.

History

Jamaicans took to Irish stout in the colonial era and sweetened it into a punch sold from bars and roadside coolers.

Frequently asked questions

What is Guinness punch?

Guinness punch is a cocktail from Jamaica: stout blended with condensed milk, nutmeg and vanilla, drunk cold. Jamaicans took to Irish stout in the colonial era and sweetened it into a punch sold from bars and roadside coolers.

How long does Guinness punch take to make?

Guinness punch takes 10 minutes of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Guinness punch?

Yes, within limits. Malta or any malt drink replaces the stout for a non-alcoholic version. Whole milk stands in for evaporated milk, giving a thinner punch.

What is the most important thing to get right in Guinness punch?

Add more stout if it is too sweet. Add more condensed milk if it is too bitter. Grate in more nutmeg if it tastes flat. It must be very freshly grated. Grate it directly over the jug.