Punch a la Ruffle Shirts

Ingredients

• 2 dozen oranges
• 1 dozen lemons
• 1 quart brandy
• 1 quart old whiskey
• 1 pint Jamaica rum
• 1 tumbler cherry bounce
• 1 tumbler peach liqueur
• 4 pounds lump sugar
• 1 large pineapple
• 1 pound sugar
• 0.5 gallon strawberries
• sugar
• 1 gallon weak green tea
• equal measures claret or homemade wine
• vichy
• fresh cucumber peel
• clear ice

Instructions

1. Scrub and pare the yellow peel thinly from two dozen oranges and one dozen lemons. Place the pared peel in a deep glass pitcher and cover with one quart brandy, one quart old whiskey, one generous pint Jamaica rum, one tumbler cherry bounce, and one tumbler peach liqueur. Cover with cloth and let stand three days off ice to blend and ripen.
2. Meanwhile, squeeze and strain the juice of the oranges and lemons onto four pounds of best lump sugar. Shred a large, very ripe pineapple fine and put it with another pound of sugar in a separate vessel. Hull half a gallon of ripe strawberries, cover them liberally with sugar, and let stand to extract the juice. (Lacking strawberries, use ripe peaches, blackberries, or seeded cherries.) Keep the fruit and sugar cool, but not too cold—just so it will not sour.
3. Upon the third morning, strain the juice of all fruits together and mix thoroughly. Make a gallon of weak green tea and strain it boiling hot upon the liquor and yellow peel. Stir well, then mix in the fruit juices and sugar. Let stand uncovered until cool. Chill thoroughly, and also chill the wine.
4. To serve, put a block of clear ice into the punch bowl and add equal measures of the mixture and the wine. Let stand half an hour before serving. Add vichy, ice-cold, at the very last moment. Garnish with thin strips of fresh cucumber peel.
5. The wine and mixture can be poured together into demijohns and kept for months if kept cool.