Sherbet green, fizzy and frilly or flaming red, funky syrup. That was punch at yesteryear’s bridal showers and rowdy college parties.
Don’t confuse it with today’s fashionable flowing bowls.
Savvy mixologists are dropping ladles into au courant mixes that, for all their style, make patrons dipping punch feel at home.
“It’s a way of bonding when you’re sharing something,” Jazz Kitchen bar manager Lori Allee said.
Certainly, comfort is bliss in these trying economic times, but there is no denying that punch is more cool than cozy. In fact, “punch service” is one of the top bar trends of 2011.
“Hardly a cocktail bar has opened in New York in the past few months without giving a nod to the crystal bowl,” The New York Times reported in December.
At Manhattan’s Death & Co. lounge, Honshu Punch blends 12-year-old Yamazaki Japanese whisky, fresh lemon and pineapple juices, craft bitters, simple syrup and club soda. Bartenders at Forty Four in the Royalton New York 8hotel make Blue Mountain punch with 21-year-old Jamaican rum, fresh-squeezed organic lime juice, demerara syrup and allspice dram — garnished with a dusting of freshly ground nutmeg and Blue Mountain coffee.
Spices recall punch’s early 17th-century origins. British sailors and traders get credit for creating the drink using ingredients they found while docked in India, David Wondrich wrote in “Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl” (Perigee Trade, $23.95).
Spices are important as ever in contemporary punches, but the drinks take various and familiar forms. Food industry market research firm Technomic in November forecasted “lots of action” in punch, including sangria. That’s the direction Allee goes at the Jazz Kitchen, where sangria is an Indianapolis favorite that easily translates to the punch bowl.
“Don’t be fooled by the taste,” Allee said of the drink’s sweetness. “It packs a pretty good punch.”
Good advice for those considering a Fat Tuesday punch bowl.
“They do go down so smooth, so easy,” Landsharks bartender Adam Amrine said of the Broad Ripple nightclub’s punches. “That’s the point of punch.”
In fact, early punches were mixed to cover the flavor of ill-flavored spirits. Today, alcoholic punches taste so good people forget how much liquor they contain.
“It’s a one-drink-per-hour kind of thing,” Amrine said, “with drinks of water in between.
Jazz Kitchen Sangria
3 bottles red wine
3 bottles zinfandel
1 cup peach schnapps
Simple syrup to taste (see note)
2 cups coarsely chopped apples
2 cups frozen sliced peaches
Note: To make simple syrup, stir together 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer syrup until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Directions: In a container, stir together wine, schnapps and simple syrup. Add fruit. Refrigerate mixture for a few hours or overnight. Serve in a large punch bowl. Makes 12-15 servings.
Source: Lori Allee
Hawaiian Punch Landsharks
1 1/4 cups Southern Comfort
1 1/4 cups amaretto
2/3 cup grenadine
12 cups orange juice, chilled
Directions: In a large, clear glass punch bowl, stir together Southern Comfort and amaretto. Float grenadine over spirits. Top with orange juice. Stir just before serving.
Source: Adam Amrine
Citrus-Beer Punch Recipe
6 lemons
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cup grapefruit juice, chilled
24 ounces light beer, chilled
Directions: Juice the lemons and thinly slice the peels. Stir the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the lemon peels, remove from the heat, and cover for 5 minutes. Then remove the peels and add the lemon juice and the grapefruit juice. Stir and transfer to a pitcher. Cover and chill for about 3 hours. Pour citrus mixture into a punch bowl. Just before serving, add the beer. Decorate with lemon slices. Serve over ice in small beer mugs. Makes 8 servings.
Source: www.freedrinkrecipes.com
