These aren't your grandma's punch recipes
It’s time to dust off the ole’ punch bowl. They are officially cool again. I mean really, really cool — like floating star fruit, bunt cake shaped ice, and pineapple on fire — kind of cool.
Like how British sailors were on to something in the 1600's when they they mixed together local rum, fruits and spices.
Like Fountain Square’s trendy, new restaurant Marrow is adding punches to its drink menu.
Like having five of Indiana’s most talented bartenders show up there to present their best holiday punch recipes.
A couple months ago, I visited bartenders’ homes to see what they keep in their liquor cabinets. One thing caught my attention. When I asked the bartenders if they get stuck mixing cocktails for guests when they host parties, each one pointed to a punch bowl.
This sent me on a quest to find out what they are putting in them.
On Nov. 17, the city’s first punch-themed cocktail competition, The Punch Bowl, was hosted by the Indianapolis Star in partnership with the United States Bartenders' Guild of Indianapolis, Republic National Distributing Co. and Marrow.
Fourteen punches were narrowed to five, and five were narrowed to one.
Steve Simon, beverage director at Marrow, was the winner. He swooned the judges with his punch called “If you give me the funk, I’m gonna take it.” The rum-based concoction was poured over tropical fruit ice cubes and topped with Champagne.Judges included Michael Gray and Bobby Ostuni, Key Account Managers for Republic National Distributing Co.; Liz Biro, food and dining reporter at IndyStar; Tony Katz, radio host for WIBC; and Matt Lamping, co-owner of 8th Day Distillery.
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Another prize, people’s choice, was awarded to Wilks and Wilson’s Zachari Wilks. More than 50 attendees tasted and voted for their favorite and chose his ode to family and the band Phish with “Punch you in the eye.” He served his herbal creation in his grandmother’s antique punch bowl, complete with tiny cups.
Don’t worry, they will all find a way to get along.That’s what the holidays are all about, right? Bringing people together. It’s time to take a bunch of ingredients with very different personalities and throw them into a giant bowl.
Find all five recipes from the finalists below.
8 drinks, no fights, one happy family
If you give me the funk, I'm gonna take it
by Steve Simon, Marrow
Ingredients:
750 milliliters St. George California Agricole Rum
1 cup St. George Raspberry Liqueur
1 3/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup galangal falernum*
1 1/4 cup orange and lemon oleo saccharum**
1 bottle of brut Champagne
Various tropical ice cubes***
*To make falernum, blanch 1 1/2 cups of almonds in 1 quart of water for 30 minutes and drain. Chop almonds, add one quart of water and let rest overnight, preferably without skin. In a sauce pan, heat 4 star anise pods with a tablespoon of allspice and 2 tablespoons of cloves. After one minute, add almonds with water to sauce pan. Heat. Add 1 quart of sugar and 1 cup chopped galangal. Heat until boiling, stirring constantly for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. After cooled, add the zest of 3 limes. Keep refrigerated for one day. Strain and add 1 ounce of overproof rum per every 5 ounces of falernum. Stir and bottle.
*To make oleo, peel 9 lemons and 4 oranges taking as little pith as possible and add 2 ounces of sugar per fruit peeled. Muddle and let sit overnight.
***To make tropical ice, add raspberries/pineapples/oranges/lemons to food processor with water. Strain and freeze in spheres.
Directions:
Add oleo to punch bowl first. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and stir. Chill punch until day of party. On day of, add tropical ice spheres to bowl. Top with Champagne, and save the rest for guests. Serve in cups over small cubes of tropical ice.
Advanced: For extra flare, Simon lit rum in a wine glass on fire, and poured it over a pineapple top in the center of the bowl. While this isn't ideal for the home bartender, you could create a similar presentation. Freeze only the top of a pineapple in a shallow pan of water, and place in the punch for a festive centerpiece.
Punch you in the eye
by Zachari Wilks, Wilks and Wilson
Ingredients:
10 ounces Flor de Cana 12-year Rum
7 1/2 ounces Huber Winery Ruby Port
5 ounces Starlight Distillery Apple Brandy
7 1/2 ounces simple syrup
7 1/2 ounces fresh lime
2 1/2 ounces Peychaud’s Bitters
2 1/2 ounces San Francisco Boker’s Bitters
Directions:
Mix all ingredients and let chill for two hours. Pour into punch bowl. Use a bunt pan to make a decorative ice cube that will keep the punch cold all day. Garnish with lime and orange wheels.
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O Ponche Arrojado
by Michael Madison, Marrow
Ingredients:
Oleo saccharum*
3 cups of Chrysanthemum Tea (brewed with one star anise)
1 1/2 cups of fresh lime juice
4 1/2 cups of Pitu Cachaca Brazilian Rum
Star fruit
Star anise
*Put 12 lemons peeled with as little pith as possible, 1 pound of sugar, 1 whole nutmeg grated, and 4 star anise into a bag, vacuum seal and allow to set for 4 to 6 hours. After completed you can refrigerate for up to a week. Allow the oleo to return to room temperature before using.
Directions:
After making the tea and oleo sacchrum, combine the two until all of the sugar is completely dissolved, then strain the mixture to remove the lemon peel/nutmeg/star anise. Combine with the lime juice and the Cachaca. Place in a punch bowl with a single large block of ice. For garnish, slice the star fruit then firmly press the star anise into the fruit so that it is embedded into the fruit. Float the garnish in the punch with the star anise side facing up.
Abraxas Ascending
by Josh Gonzales, Thunderbird
Ingredients:
1 liter Flor de Cana 4-year Rum
750 milliliters St. George Pear Brandy
500 milliliters Ancho Reyes Mexican liqueur
1 liter lime juice
500 milliliters pineapple juice
750 milliliters cinnamon clove syrup
2 ounces San Francisco Herculean Bitters
Directions:
Batch all ingredients the day before party and let chill overnight. Add large ice cubes or one large ice block an hour before serving. Garnish with pineapple wheels and fresh mint sprigs.
Indiana > Corn
be Patrick Ruby, The Coterie
Ingredients:
2 cups Mezcal Vago Elote
1 1/2 cups Jalapeno Infused Hotel Tango Victor Vodka
1/2 cup Hotel Tango Limoncello
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 cup fresh blueberry syrup
16 ounces Fever Tree Ginger Ale
Directions:
Add ice block or 2 cups of ice to punch bowl. Add ingredients over ice and give a gentle stir. Garnish with toasted ear of corn.
Follow Amy Haneline on Twitter and Instagram @amybhaneline, and Facebook. Call her at (317) 444-6281.