Recently, bartenders have taken to throwing everything but the proverbial kitchen sink into milk punches, then clarifying it into unrecognizable, transparent oblivion. Here, Adam Sousa and Caleb Landry create a tom yum soup-inspired drink filtered through curdled coconut milk.
Tom Yum Punch
Adapted from Adam Sousa and Caleb Landry, Blythe & Burrows | Portland, ME

Ingredients
- 5 cups tom yum soup (see Editor's Note)
- 5 cups gin, preferably Bombay East
- 2 cups lime juice
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
Garnish: Thai chile and cilantro
Directions
- In a container, combine the tom yum soup mixture with the lime juice.
- Combine the milk and coconut milk in a separate container.
- Stir in the lemon juice to the milk mixture, then immediately add the cocktail mix. The mixture will curdle.
- Place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Strain the mixture through a coffee filter.
- To serve, pour 3 ounces into a double rocks glass over a large ice cube.
- Garnish with a chile pepper and a cilantro sprig.
Editor's Note
Tom Yum Soup Mixture
5 cups water
1 teaspoon makrut lime leaf
1 1/3 tablespoons chopped ginger
1 1/3 tablespoons chopped galangal
1/4 cup chopped lemongrass
3/4 tablespoon chopped Thai chile
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 ounce fish sauce
2 ounces lime juice
1/2 teaspoon dark brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste
2 cups white sugar
Combine the first seven ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients, except for the sugar. Then, strain through a fine mesh strainer. Add 2 cups white sugar and stir until it dissolves. (Note: this may yield more than 5 cups total, but use all of it in making the milk punch.)