Winter Milk Punch

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cognac (preferably Courvoisier VS)
• 2 cups rum (Appleton Estate VX)
• 2 teaspoons loose chai tea
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 ½ tablespoons Demerara Simple Syrup (click for recipe)
• Freshly grated nutmeg (for serving)

Steps

1. Combine Cognac, rum, tea, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large pitcher. Set aside to steep, 2 hours; strain and discard tea and lemon zest.
2. Bring milk to a bare simmer in a medium saucepan. Immediately add hot milk to cognac mixture (milk will curdle right away). Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pitcher or large bowl, leaving about half of the curds in the base. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
3. Combine simple syrup and 3 oz. punch base in a cocktail shaker and fill shaker with ice. Shake until outside of shaker is frosty, about 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with nutmeg.