Post date: Oct 30, 2009 7:18:26 AM
Russian Punch.
Upon closer inspection I found a recipe for Russian Punch in "Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks" from 1869, by William Terrington:
"Ruby Punch -- Dissolve in 3 pints of green tea 1lb of sugar; add strained juice of 6 lemons, 1 pint of arrack, and 1 pint of port wine; sweeten to taste.
Russian Punch -- Same as Ruby; but use gill of Kummel instead of the arrack and wine."
There is also a reference to Russian Punch in Modern American Drinks... by George J. Kappeler, of which I do not have a copy, though it is available from: http://www.cocktailkingdom.com/content/modern-american-drinks
Also I found a segment of text using Google Books:
Campaigning on the Oxus, and the fall of the Khiva (available through Amazon books):
"Dinner passed off with much merriment on all sides, and concluded with a famous bowl of Russian Punch. This punch is made of vodka, champagne..."