Listen, you want to know one of the best secrets to having a great party without having to buy seven million different beverages to try to please your myriad guests’ potential tastes? (And save on hiring a bartender to make said drinks — or spending the whole night making them yourself?) PUNCH!!!
Punch is the casserole of drinks. A perfectly composed and balanced self-serve cocktail, seemingly endless in supply, and always at the ready. It’s festive, it’s delicious and it frees you up to the be the host with the most. Really, it’s the best party trick going.
Our friends over at Riunite bestowed this ruby-hued celebratory libation upon us recently. Oftentimes, punches will call for a bit of sparkle, be it in club soda form or For your Christmas entertaining purposes, it’s a good one for the hip pocket (or, more appropriately, the huge punch bowl). An off-dry style Lambrusco, which — like most sparkling — can range from dry to sweet, is a great choice for punch, where you want just a touch of sweetness, but not too much.
“Lambrusco… a frothy, fruity, ruby-red party in a glass. This Italian sparkler bursts with charm, personality, and a lot of sass,” says wine educator and fine wine specialist Lisa Schock of Park Place Wines & Spirits.
It gives you that kiss of fruitiness, the bubbles for that fun effervescent texture and some gorgeous color (hey, aesthetics are part of cocktails, too!).
Grab a bottle from Park Place Wines & Spirits (84 Park Place, East Hampton, 631-324-2622), and maybe grab a bottle of Lisa’s favorite current vodka, ALB Vodka (“The best value vodka in our store. Smooth with a polished finish that opens up over ice or disappears into a cocktail or punch,”), and mix this up for your holiday guests.
NOTE: Using a bundt cake pan to make a large circular ice block not only allows for the slower dilution of the punch, but also creates an eye-catching element to your punch as well. Adding fruit to the ice block is even prettier!
Lambrusco Punch
Ingredients
- 25 oz tk vodka
- 8 1/2 oz triple sec
- 25 oz pomegranate juice
- 1/4 cup simple syrup
- 25 oz Riunite Lambrusco, chilled
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds
- 2 cups pomegranate seeds
Simple Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the vodka, triple sec, juices and simple syrup. Stir gently to combine.
- Add in the frozen-fruit ice cubes or block.
- Top with the Lambrusco. Serve in punch cups. Happy holidays!
Simple Syrup
- In a small sauce pot, combine the sugar and water.
- Heat over medium-high flame until dissolved, stirring occasionally.
- Allow to cool and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Fruit Ice Block
- Place the orange slices and pomegranate seeds in a bundt pan. Fill with water.
- Allow 24 hours to freeze.
