First class passengers aboard the RMS Titanic were able to enjoy sumptuous multicourse meals on board the ship before the vessel met its unfortunate fate.

The final dinner served on April 14th, 1912 included lamb in mint sauce, duckling in apple sauce, and Sauté of Chicken Lyonnaise. For this meal, a palette cleansing punch called Punch Romaine was served.

An 1896 recipe by William Schmidt instructs the bartender making Punch a la Romaine to “Rub the rind of two oranges and one lemon on one and a half pounds of sugar; put it on a tureen, and add one pint of water; when the sugar is properly dissolved add the juice of four oranges and to lemons, half a bottle of Rhine wine, half a pint of arrack, half a pint of maraschino, and a pint-bottle of champagne; place the mixture in the freezing-can, turn continually, and let it freeze; finally, stir the froth of the whites of five eggs, sweetened with sugar, to it; let all freeze for a while, until it looks like thick cream; serve in champagne glasses.”

The Punch Romaine served on The Titanic was likely the one written by Chef Auguste Escoffier, an important figure in the culinary world who has been referred to as the king of chefs and the chef of kings.” According to Escoffier, in order to make Punch Romaine; “Mix dry Champagne into 5 dl of syrup. Add the juice of 2 oranges and 3 lemons, and a thin strip each of orange and lemon zest, cover and allow to infuse for 1 hour. Pass through a strainer. Freeze the punch in the machine until it is fairly stiff then mix in a quarter of its quantity of Italian meringue…When about to serve, finish the punch with Rum added a little at a time.”

Food historian Max Miller describes Punch Romaine as being more like an alcoholic sorbet as he breaks down how to make this historic punch.