We at Downtime Cocktails do not condone drinking to excess, but we do love a good drinking story—especially one that involves the creation of cocktails on an epic scale.
 
One of our favorite cocktail-tales takes place in 1694 in Cadiz, Spain. It was there that British Admiral and Senior Naval Lord Edward Russell hosted a party and oversaw the creation of the largest cocktail ever made.
 
It seems that Admiral Russell was a bit peeved at the time, as he was the first naval commander in the British fleet who was not allowed to sail his squadron home for the holidays in late autumn. In a fit of pique, Russell decided to throw an enormous bash at an estate in Spain, paid for on the navy's dime. The party featured 150 different dishes and a huge outdoor garden fountain that was filled with alcohol and served to guests as a punch. How big was this punch cocktail? Well, a boy in a rowboat paddled around the fountain stirring the cocktail as he oared! And bartenders paddled around in canoes, filling up cups for guests. (Evidently the bartenders had to work in 15-minute shifts to avoid being overcome by alcohol fumes and falling overboard.)
 
The fountain concoction was made up of 250 gallons of brandy, 125 gallons of Malaga wine, 1,400 pounds of sugar, 2,500 lemons, 20 gallons of lime juice, and 5 pounds of nutmeg.
 
With more than 400 gallons to drink, Russell's party continued nonstop for a full eight days, pausing only briefly during rainstorms to erect a silk canopy over the punch to keep it from getting watered down.
 
It's not surprising that—with a fountain full of alcohol and no limits on consumption by guests—the party eventually devolved into drunken chaos. At some point, one of the guests decided it would be fun to jump into the fountain, which triggered a mad dash by other guests. As one witness recalled, “in went the mob, with their shoes and stockings and all on, and they wanted to turn the boat with the boy over so he might have been drowned in punch.”
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After eight days, the party finally ended. It was only because the fountain had been drunk completely dry.
This holiday season, if you're inspired to celebrate like an old British Naval Commander, here's the recipe (downsized!) for Admiral Russell's punch. If you have a fountain or a swimming pool you want to fill, sorry—you'll have to do the math yourself.

Admiral Russell Punch
 

• 2.5 Cups Demerara Sugar
• 1 Cup Boiling Water
• 18 oz. Strained Lemon Juice
• 4 oz. Strained Lime Juice
• 2 Bottles Remy Martin Cognac
• 18 oz. Sherry or Madeira
• 1.5 Quarts Cold Water

 
Pour the sugar in a punch bowl and add boiling water. Stir to dissolve.
Mix in the lemon and lime juices and continue to stir more if needed to dissolve all the sugar.
Add the spirits and stir again.
Add the cold water and grate nutmeg over the top.
Garnish with lemon and lime slices.
 
Makes: 18 Cups

Down the Hatch
In a shaker with ice combine:

• 1.5 oz. Batch 22
• .5 oz. London Dry Gin
• 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• .25 oz. Benedictine
• Angostura bitters
• Orange Bitters

Shake vigorously to chill and strain into a rocks glass with one large cube. Garnish with an orange peel. ​

Vogue magazine says it's "the best bar in North America."

The highly regarded website, World's50Best Bars.com, ranks it #22 in the world.

And yet, when you go to the address listed online, there's no sign outside to tell you that you're in the right place. Just a simple "AB" and some instructions on a metal door.

The "AB" stands for "Attaboy," widely regarded as one of New York's coolest and most influential watering holes—indeed, it is lauded by many as one of the best on the planet.

Attaboy is a true New York bar; it likes doing things its own way. They don't take reservations. They only admit parties of six or less. They don't have menus. Their website is a landing page with an address and a phone number. You wanna know more? See you at 134 Eldridge Street.

It's easy to fall into a familiar routine when it comes to cocktails, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. A favorite cocktail can provide a welcome treat at the end of a long day, it can provide the social lubricant that enables a connection with someone else, or it can help to mark a special occasion. Once in a while, however, it's nice to break out of the routine and work to expand your repertoire by tasting some unfamiliar things.
 
Our "United Nations of Cocktails" series highlights the national drinks and spirits of countries from around the world, and—in doing that—we hope to inspire your curiosity and creativity when it comes to making your own cocktails at home or ordering them while out.
 
Some of the spirits we describe will probably sound familiar; others will be totally new. No matter what the spirit or drink is, it is likely used in each country to create a cocktail that is both unique and reflective of a wonderful culture.
 
Venezuela
 
Rum is the national spirit of Venezuela, and a special rum punch called Guarapita is the unofficial national cocktail of the country. This sweet, fruity punch is typically the first alcoholic drink a young Venezuelan imbibes as part of their rite of passage to adulthood.
 
Guarapita

• 1 (750ml) bottle of rum (Venezuelan: Santa Teresa Añejo)
• 1 liter of passion fruit juice
• 1 liter of orange juice
• 1 ½ cups of grenadine
• 8 limes, each cut into 8 pieces
• Spearmint leaves

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Mix all the liquid ingredients in a large punch bowl with lots of ice. Squeeze the lime sections for juice and then toss the pieces into the bowl. To serve, pour punch into a cup or glass, and garnish with a few pieces of slapped spearmint.

Brazil
 
Brazil's national cocktail is the Caipirinha, which is made with Brazil's national spirit cachaça (also known as pinga or caninha), a sugarcane-based liquor. A classic Caipirinha is made by muddling fresh limes and sugar together, then adding the liquor.  Cachaça can be used in cocktails with a wide variety of other spirits, including gin, tequila, rye whiskey, and cognac, but it's most often used as an ingredient in fruity, tropical concoctions.
 
Cachaça, which has been made in Brazil for hundreds of years, is similar to rum in that its base is sugarcane, but it has a flavor all its own. Most rums are distilled from molasses, which is a byproduct of sugarcane processing. Cachaça, on the other hand, is distilled from the fermented juice of sugar cane. This important difference yields a spirit that is distinctly funky and grassy. These unique flavors make the Caipirinha stand out among sweet-and-sour cocktails.
 
The Caipirinha and its spirit base cachaça were relatively unknown outside Brazil for centuries. In recent decades, however, the cocktail and the spirit have become much more popular and more widely available, in large part due to the rising availability of first-rate brands of cachaça outside Brazil.

Caipirinha

• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 ounces cachaça
• Garnish: lime wheel

In a double rocks glass, muddle the lime wedges and the sugar. Fill the glass with ice, add the cachaça, and stir briefly. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Kenya
 
Dawa (which means "medicine" or "magic potion" in Swahili) is the national drink of Kenya, even though it does not utilize the indigenous alcohol called Changaa, which is a popular spirit most Kenyans brew at home.
 
The Dawa is a light refreshing citrusy cocktail that goes down exceptionally well in the African heat. The classic recipe is made with vodka, but, of course, we think it's even better with Batch 22! Kenyans are traditionally enthusiastic beekeepers, so the addition of honey in the recipe is not only delicious, it's also very fitting.
 
Dawa

• 1 tsp. Brown sugar
• 1 Lime, quartered
• 2 oz. Vodka (or Batch 22)
• 1 tsp. Honey

 
Muddle the four wedges of lime with the sugar in a rocks glass. Add vodka/Batch and top with crushed ice.  Stir in the honey (the traditional method is to use a thick stick or wooden stirrer, but a spoon works just fine) to the desired sweetness level and remove stirrer. Garnish with a lime wheel.