Silent Night Punch, a variation on an 18th-century punch recipe
Serves about 40 people
2 green tea bags
8 lemons
1¾ cups superfine sugar
1 liter Pierre Ferrand Ambre cognac
1 375 ml. bottle Plantation fiver-year-old rum> 6 oz. Green Chartreuse
6 oz. Benedictine

1. Two days before the party, fill a small metal bowl (sized to scale with the punch bowl) with water and stash it in the freezer.

2. A few hours before or the night before the party, steep two green tea bags in two cups water for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Peel 8 lemons. In a large bowl, muddle peels in sugar until oil is absorbed. Add tea, cognac, dark rum, Green Chartreuse, and Benedictine to the bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add four cups of cold water and refrigerate.

3. Just before serving, add 12 oz. fresh-squeezed lemon juice to the alcohol-sugar-tea mixture. Pop the ice from the metal bowl and add it to the punch bowl. Serve it in punch glasses with a little fresh nutmeg grated over the top.