THE PUNCH BOWL

Historically, shareable cocktails were a seamless way to provide thirst-quenching refreshment to the masses. Punch bowls, the beverage of choice for church functions, public house events, weddings and funerals, became part of the national lexicon dating back to the beginning of the 19th century.

According to Derrick Mancini, owner, manager and distiller at Quincy Street Distillery, “grog,” a combination of rum and water, was the historical antecedent for punch. By the late 19th century, the elixir evolved to include tea, spice, sugar and fruit juice (usually citrus) — and that marked the official birth of the drink.

While fans of supersized cocktails are probably familiar with the Scorpion Bowl, which dates back to the 1930s, today’s shareable drinks go beyond rum, fruit and crushed ice. Since then, punch bowls have experienced a sort of renaissance with inspired ingredients ranging from cinnamon tea and shrub to Champagne and cognac.

In light of these intoxicating options, one thing is clear (even from inside a crystallized vessel or copper vase), shareable cocktails are no longer the sticky sweet, neon-pink, liquid confection of yesteryear. Instead, punch has taken on a

America’s innovative mixologists redefine shareable cocktails

By Amy Paturel

sophisticated air, and Americans’ love of the stuff shows no signs of letting up — especially when it comes to holiday cheer.

From Farm to Punch Bowl

The farm-to-table movement has made its way behind the bar, and shareable cocktails are an ideal way to showcase this. From farm-fresh fruits and teas to seasonal herbs and spices, the potential ingredient list for shareables is seemingly limitless.

Inspired by traditional holiday choices with a nod to 19th century punches, Mancini crafts a unique Christmas punch incorporating up to a dozen fruit juices, including a range of citrus- and Caribbean fruit-based ones like pineapple and pomegranate that are seasonal around the holidays. He then adds some sort of tea (white, green or black), sugar, water, ice and the distillery’s signature white whiskey, Water Tower White Lightning™. “Last year we went through a dozen three-gallon bowls during the course of one evening,” he says.

The beauty of shareable cocktails is the creative platform they offer using a wide variety of ingredients. The Dorsey at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas features a variety of punch bowls ranging from an easy-drinking punch with vodka, green apple juice, cucumber juice and lime to a Creole style punch with dark rum, allspice, lime, pineapple and bitters. And there’s always a seasonal punch, too. Lead Bartender Juyoung Kang aims for ingredients that complement the holidays, like pear, apple, cinnamon and nutmeg, rather than the usual suspects such as eggnog, pine and gingerbread.

Still, according to Patrick Williams, national beverage director at Punch Bowl Social, it’s not that easy to pull off well-made, shareable cocktails. “From conception to completion, the key is to decide on a base and then focus on balancing sweet and not sweet.”

For the holidays, Williams uses warming ingredients, such as cider, spice, bourbon and scotch. He begins with concentrated flavors that embody what he wants to accomplish with the punch and then selects a weak element like tea to stretch out the drink. The popular base formula goes something like this: one ounce of sour, two ounces of sweet, three ounces of strong and four ounces of weak.

“That’s just a baseline,” says Williams, who prefers to play with the ratios depending on his base ingredients. “Bitters, spices, shrub, those things don’t scale like other ingredients, so you have to start with a single and taste as you go.” The goal, of course, is to mix the perfect ratio of sour, sweet, strong, weak and spice.

Serving Up Shareables

Crafty bartenders can make shareable cocktails especially novel, even whimsical or over the top, by playing around with serving vessels. The most Instagramworthy of the bunch come in vessels that aren’t designed for sipping. Believe it or not, some mixologists are serving up their large-batch libations in repurposed coffee equipment, fish tanks and cooking pots.

“People want to showcase the best parts of their lives, and big, beautiful shared cocktails look great on Instagram stories,” says Kang, who frequently relies on Absolut Elyx’s copper vessels and glassware to create a sleek, sexy shareable. “They have pineapples, flamingos, disco balls, roosters and more. They’re decadent and lavish but not intimidating.”

Mancini chooses a more conservative approach with pressed glass punch bowls reminiscent of traditional serving vessels. The designs harken back to 19th century cut glass crystal, so it’s a perfect match for his holiday shareables.

Whatever the vessel, mixologists have to pay attention to dilution. “Instead of using a big ice mold in the center of the bowl, which makes ladling a challenge, I’ll make four or five small ice molds for more even dilution,” says Williams. To really make a splash, consider the occasion and freeze ingredients that make sense. For the holidays, Williams froze marshmallows in the mold along with a sprig of rosemary to harken back to pine trees for their “Oh Tannebaum” libation.

No matter how you sip it — in a large, shared vessel or ladled into individual glasses — today’s punch is gaining ground even in white tablecloth restaurants. These classy shareables are not only tasty and refreshing, but when mixed tableside, they give groups the opportunity to weigh in on strength and sweetness.

And what about the cost? Punchstyle drinks don’t necessarily come cheap. Depending on the size of the party, sharables can run anywhere from $50 to $400. The discrepancy, of course, depends on what’s in your bowl. In some cases, there’s an entire bottle of champagne or rum in one shared vessel. The payoff, of course, is a shared experience. “That’s why punch is so successful between our four walls,” says Williams. “It brings people together.”