Cobbler’s Punch is a British term originally applied to an impromptu punch made from cheap gin sweetened with treacle and soured with vinegar (although occasionally the canonical sugar and lemon juice are found). First recorded in 1788, the drink may be of naval origin, while its name is derived from its cobbled-together nature. By the mid-nineteenth century, its specificity had greatly dissipated. As Mr. Venus says in Charles Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend (1864), “It’s difficult to impart the receipt for it … but the groundwork is gin.” Indeed, the name was often applied in Victorian years to what was elsewhere called Dog’s Nose—gin or whisky and ale or porter—or Stone Fence—gin or whisky and cider. See Stone Fence.
Baker, Anne E. A Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases. London: 1854.
Grose, Francis. A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 2nd ed. London: 1788.
By: David Wondrich