Five Holiday Punches for 2011

THE HOLIDAYS ARE on us, and whether you're hosting parties for Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus or New Year's Eve, punches are a great way to serve a lot of people with minimal effort. Gone are the days of "punch" being a bottle of vodka and a bottle of orange soda. Instead, try a few of these creative libations. Some require preparing the punch a day in advance, but your guests will be very appreciative (hint: Serve in small cups, to maximize share and minimize alcohol consumption).

The West Side Wassail Punch

(Marshall Altier, JBird NYC)

• 8 lemons
• 1 lb Demerara (brown) Sugar
• 1/2 tspn Ground Cinnamon Bark
• 1/2 tspn Fresh Ground Nutmeg
• 12 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 bottle Beefeater Gin
• 6 oz Becherovka Liqueur
• 8 oz Apple Lambic (beer)
• 8 oz Cold Water
• 1 tablespoon Bar Keep Baked Apple Bitters

In a large punchbowl, Prepare an oleo sacchrum by using the peels (no pith) of eight lemons, sprinkled with the sugar and muddle well. Let sit for one hour, then add spices, lemon juice, gin, Bechrovka, lambic beer, water and bitters. Stir, and garnish with lemon wheels, cinnamon sticks and star anise.

Scorpion Punch

(Haru Sushi NY)

• 2 oz Amore Amaretto
• 2 oz Jim Beam Red Stag Whiskey
• 2 oz Purity Vodka
• 2 oz ShoChikuBai Sake
• 1 oz Grenadine
• 1 oz Lime Juice
• 6 oz Pineapple Juice
• 6 oz Fresh Orange Juice

Combine all ingredients except pineapple and orange juice in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake and strain into a punch bowl filled with a large ice block. Add pineapple and orange juice (more can be added to taste and to top off the bowl). Garnish with lemon and lime wheels, two cherries.

Yuletide Punch

• 1 750 ml bottle Sobieski Vodka
• 4 cups Chai Tea (sweetened to taste)
• 4 cups Clear Apple Juice
• 2 Oranges, sliced
• 2 Red Apples, sliced

Combine all ingredients in a large punch bowl with a large ice ring. Garnish with seasonal fruit slices.

Gaspare's Winter Punch

(Julie Reiner, Clover Club)

• 3/4 cup Campari
• 3/4 cup Orange Liqueur (like Cointreau)
• 2 bottles medium-bodied red wine (like Estancia's 2009 Merlot)
• 6 cups Cranberry Juice
• 1 cup Fresh / Frozen Cranberries
• 1/2 cup Raisins
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• Zest of one Orange
• 6 Cinnamon Sticks
• 10 Whole Cloves
• 10 Whole Allspice
• 1 Whole Nutmeg
• 1 tsp Almond Extract

Sort cranberries, discarding bruised fruit. Rinse and place in a six-quart pan with raisins, orange zest, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, allspice, nutmeg and cranberry juice. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes to blend flavors. Add wine and sugar, and simmer 6 to 8 minutes, until steaming. Do not bring to a boil. Add Campari, orange liqueur and almond extract. Strain out cranberries and ladle into punch cups garnished with cinnamon stick and star anise.

Trafalgar Punch

(David Wondrich, author of Punch: The Dangers and Delights of the Flowing Bowl)

• 1/2 oz Taylor Fladgate 10-year Tawny Port
• 8 oz Laressingle VSOP Armagnac
• 4 oz Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum
• Peel of 3 Lemons cut in wide spirals
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 6 oz Fresh strained Lemon Juice
• 24 oz Water
• 1 Whole Nutmeg

In a 3-quart punch bowl, muddle the lemon peels with the sugar and let sit for at least an hour. Then stir in the lemon juice. Add the Port, Armagnac, rum and water, and stir again. Carefully slide in a 1-quart block of ice. Let chill for 20 minutes and grate 1/3 of a whole nutmeg over the top. Ladle out 3- to 3-oz servings into a small wineglass or punch cups. Makes 20 - 30 servings.

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 FTC Disclaimer: The author sometimes receives product samples for review, which carry no cash value and cannot be re-sold, and sometimes attends press events such as lunches or cocktail parties, designed to promote a given product. The author is not paid by any alcohol manufacturer, retailer or distributor, or provided compensation apart from revenue from an assigning publishing company for editorial publication. Opinions are the author's own. By the way, you should be 21 or older to read this page. Author has tried and made many of these punches – it's not as hard as it may at first seem.