Legend has it the British brought punches back from India and made them a fad. On our side of the pond, pulling out the punch bowl was how your parents or grandparents turned a gathering into a party. Now mixologists are punching up punches and turning them into colorful, shareable cocktails.
Catch, a Shore restaurant and bar in Longport, offers eight such shareables, from pitchers of sparkling pomegranate lemonade to martini bowls for six to a $50 concoction of vodka, rum, Blue Curaçao, sour mix, pineapple juice and Sprite, called Get the FISH Outta Here. It’s served in a fishbowl.
Eluding strict definition, punches are usually made in batches with wines, spirits, soft drinks, fruits, spices and flavorings. “For a busy bar, a batched cocktail is less labor intensive,” says 2014 Iron Shaker winner John Jansma, sommelier and GM of Serenade, an NJM Top 25 restaurant in Chatham. “For the customer, punches give a vibe of communal drinking and lightheartedness. They’re just a lot of fun.”
At Serenade, Jansma usually serves punches in stemless wine glasses. His seasonal Rosemary Punch calls for rosemary-infused Campari, honey syrup, gin, club soda, prosecco and sugar that has been muddled overnight with orange, lemon and lime zests. As in original punch recipes, the sugar pulls flavor-rich oils out of the zests.
“When someone mentions punch,” says Jono Moratis, beverage director of Strip House in Livingston, “it always brings to mind super-sweet concoctions of fruit, juices and ginger ale from senior proms that someone spiked.”
Rather than abandon punches, Moratis upgrades them. “I prefer to use a crisp, tart sauvignon blanc to keep the punch refreshing,” he says. He adds unsweetened apple juice, fresh fruit and club soda and refrigerates overnight. For recipes, click here.