Description

How to clarify cocktails with milk, it’s easier than you think! This pineapple clarified milk punch recipe is a great template to learn how to clarify cocktails.

Ingredients

Scale

16 oz brandy
16 oz rum
peels of four lemons
2 nutmeg, chopped
2 cinnamon sticks, chopped
2 whole Star anise, chopped
8 oz lemon juice
8 oz pineapple juice
16 oz sugar by volume
16 oz water
8 oz milk
garnish: grate nutmeg, lemon peel

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Instructions

Peel lemons and chop spices. Add the peels of lemons, nutmeg, cinnamon stick and star anise to a container along with the brandy and rum and let set 2 hours or up to 12 hours preferably. Strain out the solids. Add sugar, water, lemon juice and pineapple juice to the infused booze mixture and stir to dissolve the sugar.
In a non-reactive container, add the cold milk. Slowly pour in the cocktail into the milk. Stir. Let set for a few hours in the fridge to let the milk do its thing (a.k.a. curdle) do not stir. When the whey has formed into a “web” in the container and settle to the bottom, it’s time to strain. You can leave it for up to 24 hours.
Put a cheese cloth over a container or jar with a funnel. I used a Chemex coffee maker. Slowly strain into the cheesecloth. It will take a bit to fully strain. Strain again, but this time use the coffee filter in a funnel over another container. The cheese cloth catches the bigger clumps of whey, but lets some smaller whey through. The coffee filter catches the rest, but wont get clogged with the thicker whey, which can take hours to strain!
Et viola! there you have it a clear milk punch that will last for months in the fridge!
To serve: Pour into a glass with a large cube, preferably clear ice to show off all your hard work clarifying, grate of nutmeg on top with a lemon peel and optional pineapple leaf for flair.

Notes

Tools needed: two large non-reactive pitchers or containers, Chemex or large container, coffee filter and cheesecloth

glassware suggestion: rocks glass. I used these from Umami mart

You can use just a coffee filter for straining, but this can take hours. If you have the time and want to save a step, use the coffee filter only for the first strain instead of the cheesecloth.