Crouch, Jasper (ca. 1800–ca. 1860), was in his day the leading caterer in Richmond, Virginia, earning particular renown as a mixologist. A “free person of color,” Crouch was the drink mixer for the Richmond Quoit Club, which boasted the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Marshall, as a member, among other dignitaries, and for the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, a militia unit recruited from socially prominent families. Crouch was famous for his Mint Juleps, a favorite of Marshall’s, and his punch, which he made, according to one old Richmond resident, “of the freshest lemons” and the “best old cognac brandy and Jamaica rum,” mixed “in the proportion of four-fifths of brandy to one of rum, and a dash of old Murdock Madeira just to give it a flavor and tone, and to take off the fiery edge.” Dilution and cooling for the “strong and sweet” punch were provided “by pouring into the capacious bowl at least one-third of transparent ice.” In the 2010s, Crouch’s Quoit Club Punch found a new popularity, particularly in the American South.
See also
Munford, George Wythe. The Two Parsons. Richmond, VA: J. D. K. Sleight, 1884.
Wondrich, David. Punch. New York: Perigee, 2010.
By: David Wondrich