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March 7, 2016

Recipes for Delicious Big-Batch Cocktails

by Clarkson Potter

Stir up delicious fit-for-a-crowd cocktails.

Find inspiration in fresh fruit, smoky spices, and potent spirits, and mix a bowl or pitcher of punch for any occasion or season. Whether it’s a drink served in champagne flutes at a holiday party or in Mason jars and paper cups in the backyard, you’ll take cocktail hour to a whole new level with every one of these drinks:

CLASSIC COCKTAILS, such as Pimm’s Punch
SANGRIAS AND CHAMPAGNE-BASED PUNCHES, such as Meyer Lemon Drop Champagne Punch
TROPICAL DRINKS, such as Kumquat-Tangerine Smash
HEIGHT OF SUMMER, such as Watermelon-Tequila Punch
FIRESIDE COCKTAILS, such as Aztec Chocolate Punch
NONALCOHOLIC PUNCHES, such as Mixed Berry Lemonade

TSG Review

I’m afraid I will be biased for this review. I love mixed drinks and a punch is nothing but a giant version of those! So you might want to take everything I say next with a grain of salt. Some of the punches make a punch bowls worth of drinks and some of the recipes make as little as four servings. The smaller ones tend to be the mixed drink variety. Making the Skinny Moscow Mule and Lemon Punch will keep you away from the bar a little longer so you have more time to spend with a couple of your friends but the sangria and jungle juice inspired punches will keep you in the party for awhile.

I followed all the recipes exactly as written.

Spiced Pear Punch

Serves 10

This was a beautiful and fragrant punch with a low alcohol content. It was served warm which is always nice on cold evenings. Soon after it was ready it was great you could taste all those winter spices clove, cinnamon, and anise. The tartness of the lemons balanced nicely with the sweetness of the pears. After a while however, the pears stared to break down making a slurry with a strange texture. It was just two of use however working on a punch that serves eight people. If we had more people it wouldn’t have been a problem.

Winter Spiced Rum

Serves 12

Full Recipe

I am a big fan of rum anyways so naturally this one interested me. Cranberry juice, spiced rum, allspice and persimmons come together in a very tasty way. I had a difficult time finding the ingredients for this recipe. For whatever reason most stores were no longer carrying persimmons, so when, after the fourth grocery store I found some, they were tiny so I had to buy an extra one to put in the recipe. After five grocery stores I gave up on the white cranberry juice and went with white grape juice. Why not regular cranberry juice instead?, well, the regular cranberry juice has a pretty noticeable tartness to it white cranberry juice does not and when used in a cocktail the white grape juice can totally mimic the sweetness and mellow flavor of the other.

Skinny Moscow Mule

Serves 4

Can’t say I was a big fan of this one but I have had a Moscow mule before and this was dead on. You get a bite from the ginger, one from the lemons, and another from the vodka. There is just not enough sweet in this to balance it out, in my opinion. I added some simple syrup after trying it the books way and I thought it was much better. That ended up taking the skinny out of it. The skinny Moscow Mule starts with diet ginger beer after all.

Meyer Lemon Punch

Serves 8

We made this one for New Years Eve. It was like a spiked lemonade with a lemon zest sugar rim.

Tropicolada Punch

Serves 4

A pretty fantastic frozen drink with lots of fruit in it. Banana, mango, coconut, pineapple, lime, and rum combine in a refreshing way. I will be making this this summer, again…and again.

Summary

The recipes I made were quite tasty to drink and the author has some pretty cool ideas for the other drinks I looked at. That the book is categorized by season is a neat idea that works well for beverages. This is a great party drink book that I would definitely recommend getting. Click on this link to try the Winter-Spiced Rum Punch if you don’t believe me.

Punch Bowls and Pitcher Drinks

Recipes for Delicious Big-Batch Cocktails

by Clarkson Potter

TSG Review

I followed all the recipes exactly as written.

Spiced Pear Punch

Serves 10

Winter Spiced Rum

Serves 12

Skinny Moscow Mule

Serves 4

Meyer Lemon Punch

Serves 8

Tropicolada Punch

Serves 4

Summary

Milk Street: Tuesday Nights

Food with Friends

Yogurt