Chatham Artillery Punch

Rum, cognac, bourbon, champagne, and tea — the Savannah Chatham Artillery (founded 1786, predating the US Army) famed for disguising its alcohol behind sweetness.

Chatham Artillery Punch carries one of the most fearsome reputations of any American punch recipe, built over nearly three centuries of documented effect on its drinkers. The Chatham Artillery is a genuine military unit — founded in Savannah, Georgia in 1786, it is one of the oldest active artillery units in the United States, predating the establishment of the U.S. Army itself. The punch is believed to have been the unit's celebratory libation from the early 19th century onward, served at public entertainments, military reviews, and patriotic gatherings across coastal Georgia. Its power derives from the combination of multiple spirit categories — rum, cognac, and rye or bourbon whiskey — together with champagne and a base of tea, citrus juice, and sugar, in a formula designed for large-format service from a punch bowl rather than individual cocktails. The resulting drink masks its alcohol content behind sweetness, tea tannins, and effervescence, leading to the legendary accounts of distinguished visitors being unexpectedly incapacitated after consuming what seemed like a festive but reasonable beverage. The Savannah hospitality tradition associated with the punch, combined with the Artillery's genuine historical standing, gave the drink a credibility that more purely fictional origin stories cannot match. The recipe has been published in various proportions since the 19th century, but all versions agree on the essential character: elaborate, sweet, effervescent, and significantly more potent than it presents itself to be.