Breakfast At Tiffany's Mississippi Punch Recipe

There's something mesmerizing about Holly Golightly; it could be the elegant way she talks, the confidence with which she enters a room (through the window, no less), or the fact that she's hardly ever found without a drink in her hand. Though always effortlessly chic, the farm girl turned party-goer has an endless cycle of boozy favorites, starting the day with a coupe of champagne and ending it with a glass of whiskey. Somewhere in the middle of Holly's whirlwind weekends are plentiful servings of Mississippi Punch, served tall and chilled in highball glasses. As seen by the glassy-eyed crowd at Holly's party, they are deliciously boozy.

A Mississippi Punch is a classic cocktail that can be made just for one or in a punchbowl for a crowd. Made with rich, citrusy cognac, bourbon whiskey, dark rum, lemon, and plenty of sweetener, the drink is surprisingly smooth — and unsurprisingly very strong. The original "jungle juice," Mississippi Punch is a swirling concoction of liquors that ends up tasting delicious — maybe dangerously so. For a high-proof lemonade that will make you feel as glamorous as Golightly, whip up a batch of this timeless boozy punch for your next party — or even for a night in with Moon River on repeat.

You'll need three different liquors for this cocktail: cognac, bourbon, and dark rum. While you can omit the rum, if desired, the cognac and bourbon are necessary for the cocktail. If you don't have cognac, you can use brandy instead. From there, you'll just need a lemon and some simple syrup or a sugar cube.

Add ice to a cocktail shaker.

Add the cognac, whiskey, rum, lemon juice, and simple syrup to the cocktail shaker.

Shake until chilled, about 20 seconds.

Pour into a glass, unstrained.

Garnish with an orange slice and cherry, if desired.

A recipe for Mississippi Punch first appeared in print in 1862, during a time when individual cocktails were beginning to replace big-batch punch bowl drinks. While this recipe is written for just one cocktail, it can be adapted back to a true punch for serving to a crowd. To do this requires a little math — and a lot of lemons.

First, decide the amount of punch you'll be using. For a small party serving 4 to 6 guests, you may want to make enough for 8 cocktails. In this case, multiply the amounts by 8. You'll need 2 cups of cognac, 1 cup each of bourbon and rum, ½ cup of lemon juice, and ½ cup of simple syrup (or to taste). This will total to 5 cups of liquid, or enough to fill a pitcher. Make sure to provide ice to fill glasses with, or add ice to the pitcher. For a larger party, prepare 24 servings to fill a 2-gallon punch bowl. This will be 6 cups of cognac, 3 cups each of bourbon and rum, and 1 ½ cups each of lemon and simple syrup. This amount will fill the punch bowl about halfway — then just add ice, orange slices, and cherries to the punch bowl for easy serving (and to ensure no one drinks the punch without the dilution).

Because the cocktail is largely made up of these liquors alone (with only some sweetener and lemon added), choose bottles in the mid-range that have a smooth flavor with notes of citrus and vanilla. In other words, avoid both the very cheapest bottles and the most expensive bottles meant for sipping. And make sure the rum is dark rum, which complements the other two brown liquors.

If you still feel a bit lost looking through endless shelves of brown liquors, try finding some popular labels. For cognac, you can browse through our top picks of cognac brands, selecting the mid-range option from each (when in doubt, Hennessey is available almost everywhere). For bourbon, we like brands like Benchmark, which is made by Buffalo Trace Distillery and is designed to be used in mixed drinks. As for rum, make sure you select a dark rum, which is different from spiced, gold, or white rum. We love Diplomatico, a pricey option but well worth it for its rich flavor.