Cold Punches

When it comes to punches, five is the magic number.
There are five basic ingredients for a traditional punch - alcohol, spice, sugar, water, fruit - and its name comes from the Hindi word for five, panch.
One of the best-known punches, Sangria, has its origins way back in time in Spain when wine and whatever fruit was available was mixed with a little sweetener. Today its reputation has been damaged by the sweetened watered-down wine served up as Sangria in some tourist resorts. So let's get it straight: sangria isn't a way to use up cheap and nasty wine! The predominant taste is that of the wine and if you start off with a bad taste, you'll end up with a bad taste! So you want to choose a medium to good wine as your base. And allow time for the wine to absorb the flavours of the fruits.
This is a very basic Sangria recipe. You can add brandy, orange liqueur, ginger ale - whatever you have to hand - to vary it.
- 1 bottle dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 large oranges
- 2 large lemons
- 2 medium peaches
- 1 cup soda
Sangria is named from the Spanish for blood, sangre, and is traditionally a rich red colour, but you can have Sangria Blanco (white).
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup caster sugar
- 5 cinnamon sticks
- 1 bottle sparkling white wine, chilled
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 oranges, cut into wedges
- 2 apples, cut into wedges
Place the wine, syrup, orange juice and fruit in a punchbowl and mix well. Serve in tall glasses over crushed ice, and garnish with a mint leaf.
In 1908 the New York Times printed this recipe for Planter's Punch.
This recipe I give to thee,
Dear brother in the heat.
Take two of sour (lime let it be)
To one and a half of sweet,
Of Old Jamaica pour three strong,
And add four parts of weak.
Then mix and drink. I do no wrong -
I know whereof I speak.
Or you might like to try:
- 6 parts dark rum
- 3 parts of lemon juice
- 1 part of grenadine
- Soda water
As a punch, mix the first three together in a large punchbowl before chilling overnight. Add the soda to taste just before serving. Garnish with orange and lemon slices.
In 2001, a bartender named Voodoo Master created this Caribbean rum punch at a party at the world famous Voodoo Lanai in south Florida.
Voodoo Master's Rum Punch
- 2 cartons pineapple juice
- 1 carton orange juice
- 1 l light rum
- ½ bottle coconut rum
- 6 oz grenadine
- 32 oz soda water
- 6-8 dashes angostura bitters
For a punch that packs one, try this whisky-based concoction.
McPunch
- 1 bottle blended whisky
- 2 pints boiling water
- 8 oz sugar
- 3 lemons
- Some mint leaves
When the syrup has cooled, strain into a punchbowl and add the whisky and reserved lemon juice. Chill before serving.