Brandy Milk Punch & Caribbean Milk Punch Cocktails

Brennan's Restaurant offers a classic cocktail that is a rich and creamy way to start, enhance or end your day.

Enjoy a Brandy Milk Punch from Brennan's Restaurant

Celebrate the flavors of Louisiana with the classic Brandy Milk Punch cocktail.

Folks from New Orleans see nothing wrong with starting their day with a proper cocktail, especially during weekend brunches that are celebrated here like no place else. But if you’re worried about “tossing one back” too early in the day, may we offer the perfect alibi? Just add milk. Voila … instant breakfast drink!

That’s what you get with a delicious Brandy Milk Punch, a mid-morning “eye opener” that the locals say will put you in the right frame of mind to face your day. You could opt for the expected Bloody Mary or Mimosa, sure, but one taste of this frothy, creamy, vanilla-infused, nutmeg-sprinkled, Brandy-based jewel will have you changing your cocktail tune.

While Brandy may seem an unlikely choice to mix with milk and cream, the spirit was once thought to have medicinal powers during early Colonial times. So a shot in the morning was like a toast to your health, right? Some prefer bourbon as their base, but any good Louisianan knows an intense brandy, especially Cognac, is what best tempers the drink’s sweetness. 

History of the Brandy Milk Punch Cocktail

While the Brandy Milk Punch wasn’t invented in New Orleans, one of the world’s top brunch restaurants here takes much-deserved credit for perfecting it. A cherished local tradition since 1946, Brennan’s Restaurant serves up innovative Creole cuisine with French and Spanish influences in dining rooms oozing with Old World elegance, service and sophistication.

You can enjoy a refreshing Brandy Milk Punch with your meal or settle into The Roost Bar, an airy gathering spot overlooking the restaurant’s lush courtyard. Settle into a spot at the bar and that drink just may be mixed and served by world-renowned “bar chef” Lu Brow, an institution at Brennan’s for more than 15 years.

“When you step into Brennan's, a palette of pinks, soft greens and light colors lend itself to a tropical sensibility that is perfectly complemented by the Caribbean Milk Punch especially,” Brow says, describing a popular version of the same cocktail that blends rum and bourbon together for amazing results.

Brow says the Brandy Milk Punch has always been a popular cocktail at the city’s “old-line restaurants,” but with the opening of Brennan's they wanted to introduce something that paid tribute to the classic drink while also putting their own spin on it. It’s the addition of rum, she insists, that makes the Caribbean Milk Punch a fun, flavorful riff on the original

“Both versions are favorites among our guests. You’ll see them at almost every table when you visit the restaurant!” 

Brandy Milk PunchBrandy Milk Punch Recipe

Ingredients 

  • 2 oz. milk
  • 2 oz. cream
  • 1.5 oz bourbon or brandy
  • 1.5 oz. vanilla bean-infused simple syrup
  • freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish

Method of Preparation

  1. Combine all ingredients over ice and shake vigorously.
  2. Strain into a coup or wine glass with no ice.
  3. Garnish with nutmeg.

Recipe and images courtesy of Brennan’s Restaurant.





Caribbean Milk Punch Caribbean Milk Punch

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. Smith and Cross or Mt. Gay “Black Barrel” Rum
  • ½ oz. Maker’s Mark or Buffalo Trace Bourbon
  • 1 oz. vanilla bean-infused simple syrup
  • 1 oz. heavy cream
  • hand-shaved nutmeg, for garnish 

Method of Preparation

  1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.
  2. Shake until frothy and stain into a couple glass with no ice.
  3. Garnish with nutmeg.

Recipe and images courtesy of Brennan’s Restaurant.