Summer Punch Bowl

In the world of entertaining there is no more delightfully flexible potable than a good punch in the mouth. This protean party favorite can assume any festive task to which it's put. Made with light moselle or Rhenish wines, it can beguile your guests with a light, delicate flavor that rests easily on the tongue. Switch to the heavier-duty stuff of brandies and rums and it can smoothly make for jolly high spirits and flowing conversation.

Until recently in this country, the punch bowl was trotted out only at the year-end saturnalia, when it was filled with a hot wassail or a rich whiskey eggnog, only to be put in dry storage for the next 12 months. More and more hosts today are going back to the reigns of the four Georges of England, when men like David Garrick and Sam Johnson vied with each other to invent newer and stronger punch recipes as they ladled their way through puncheries, punch clubs and punch taverns all over England. It was an era when the punch bowl was an indispensable item for the gentry. In various shapes and styles they shined as baptismal fonts in joyful solemnity, sparkled invitingly at weddings, formed the convivial center at election campaign rallies, and were even pressed into service to help celebrate military triumphs.

Too often a prospective host shies away from giving a punch party because it sounds like too much trouble. There are a few punch recipes in which fruit has to be marinated in liquors for a day or two, but those are the exceptions. Generally, an hour or so is all you need for ripening the strong and the weak, the tart and the sweet for a really superior punch. And yet, as easy as it is, the punch bowl, with its gleaming island of ice in a sea of liquor, propels any casual affair into a gala occasion. The sight of the brimming bowl seems to draw drinkers of all persuasions, be they light, moderate or heavy.

As host, you should be willing and able to assume the role of benevolent dictator. You fill your bowl with only one liquor combination —a happy limitation that emancipates the madding crowd from making a choice. If you're the kind of host who wants to remain sober, you may do so, although this kind of Spartan discipline isn't really necessary, since the party, once under way, is completely self-serving. Undoubtedly, the best side effect is what a punch bowl can do for your ego. When you serve a bottle of fine whiskey or wine, you're given mild credit as a thoughtful host, but the lion's share of plaudits is reserved for the distiller or vintner whose name appears on the bottle. When you serve a fine punch, the hours of glory are yours alone.

Ben Franklin once observed that some people "can in an instant understand all arts and sciences by the liberal education of a little vivifying punch." But before you can vivify, you must first know how. For instance, an ounce of Chartreuse will quickly spread its rich flavor through a whole bottle of white wine. An ounce of white wine, on the other hand, is hopelessly lost in a bottle of Chartreuse. Add a mere splash of heavy Jamaica rum to a whiskey punch and it is instantly cited for its dark flavor. If a tablespoon of whiskey in a rum punch is noticed at all, it is taken as a mistake — something dropped in accidentally. Thus, while alcohol would seem to be the staff of life in a punch bowl, it's really the diversified flavors of alcohol, subtly balanced, that bring on the special euphoria of a successful punch. Even nonalcoholic flavors must join in the balancing act with the stronger liquors. A tart taste such as cranberry juice needs the self-effacingness of vodka. The deep flavor of blueberries marries cozily with the opulence of Greek brandy.

You can always peg a really professional bartender by his icemanship. He uses ice both to chill and to mildly dilute. When he twirls whiskey and vermouth with ice in a mixing glass, he knows the exact point at which the two ounces of liquor reach their icy peak of perfection and become three ounces of a manhattan cocktail. Punch is made cold in two ways —by prechilling all ingredients from the brandy to the bitters, and by placing a floating island of ice in the bowl itself. As the waves lap against the ice, the liquid becomes properly diluted. A few cold punches, such as the champagne varieties, should not be diluted, although they are sometimes ice-girt in a surrounding vessel of crushed ice. These days, when the iceman no longer cometh, it's sometimes difficult to buy a really good-sized chunk. However, in our age of the cube, this is no particular problem. In fact, cubes are faster in their chilling effect than a block. But to serious punch makers, they are puny craft alongside the traditional icy blockbuster in the punch bowl. You can make your own by simply freezing water in a metal or plastic container, a deep saucepan or metal mixing bowl. Normally you want a chunk of ice made with two quarts of water for each gallon of punch. After freezing, dip the sides of the bowl in warm water for a few seconds and the ice will slide easily down the ways. The top may form a slight peak and reveal a crack or two, but the inverted iceberg will be smooth and should float serenely.

If you don't own a punch bowl, there is an immense variety designed for a bachelor's equipage. The biggest bowl on record was used at a party given by Admiral Edward Russell in 1694 at Alicante, to celebrate the victory of his Mediterranean fleet over the French at La Hogue: The doughty admiral served a tidal wave of punch in an enormous marble fountain to some 6000 guests. The recipe called for four hogsheads of brandy and the juice of 2500 lemons as a starter. Eventually, everybody got high, including the two boys who alternated in a small rowboat ladling out punch to the guests at the rim of the fountain. The boys didn't drink it themselves, but eventually toppled over from the fumes that rose from the lake of hard liquor. If you are celebrating something a bit smaller than a fleet victory, there are several elegant, if less grand, choices of bowl available. Old-fashioned but always charming Victorian cut-glass bowls showing the "Full Chase" and "The Kill" are still around. There are thin modern bowls in the shape of brandy snifters and huge crockery ones big enough for a goose to swim in. In an emergency, of course, you can use anything from a fish bowl to a champagne bucket. But where punch becomes a habit, as it recently has in many quarters, a handsome silver or glass bowl on a tray and a dozen squat punch cups become the easiest portable bar extant.

The food you serve at a punch party depends more on the hour than on the punch itself. If your guests are gathered together for the kind of nearly total immersion that takes place at the cocktail hour, you'll find what the French call amuse-gueules very useful. These are simply the small cocktail tidbits that literally beguile the palate and nothing more: salted Macadamia nuts, olives, cheese twigs smoked oysters or smoked cod liver on buttered rounds of melba toast. If the party extends beyond the twilight, you should be ready with an all-in-one casserole—a chicken tetrazzini, or a beef stew in red wine, either of which, like the punch bowl itself, can become the grand center of attention.

The punch recipes that follow each make approximately a gallon of potable, enough for eight bibulous guests at three rounds apiece.

[recipe_title]Orange Almond Bowl[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]18 ozs. blended whiskey[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]12 ozs. Danish aquavit[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart plus 8 ozs. orange juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]8 ozs. sweet vermouth[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 teaspoon orange bitters[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Peel of 2 large California oranges[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]6 ozs. slivered almonds[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 tablespoons melted butter[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Salt[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart plus 1 pint quinine water[/drinkRecipe]

Preheat oven at 375°. Place almonds in shallow pan or pie plate. Pour butter over almonds, mixing well. Place pan in oven and bake until almonds are medium brown, stirring once during baking. Avoid scorching. Sprinkle with salt. Chill almonds and all other ingredients. Pour whiskey, aquavit, orange juice, vermouth and bitters over large block of ice in punch bowl. Let mixture ripen 1 hour. Cut orange peel into narrow strips about 2 in. long. Pour quinine water into bowl. Stir. Float orange peel and almonds on punch.

[recipe_title]Gin Casanova Punch[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart gin[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]16 ozs. Casanova liqueur[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]16 ozs. dry vermouth[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart unsweetened grapefruit juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/3 cup sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart club soda[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 lemons[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 bunches mint[/drinkRecipe]

Chill all ingredients. Pour gin. Casanova liqueur, vermouth and grapefruit juice over large block of ice in punch bowl. Add sugar and stir well. Let mixture ripen 1 hour. Just before serving add club soda to bowl. Stir. Cut lemons into thin slices. Float lemon slices and mint on punch. If mint stems are very long, cut off and discard bottom ends.

[recipe_title]Barbados Bowl[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1 fifth light rum[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]8 ozs. 151-proof rum[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]8 medium-size ripe bananas[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart plus 12 ozs. pineapple juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]18 ozs. (3 cans) frozen concentrated limeade[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]12-oz. can mango nectar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 limes[/drinkRecipe]

Chill all ingredients except bananas. Cut 6 bananas into thin slices and place in electric blender with limeade. (concluded on page 150) Punch Bowl (continued from page 70)Blend until smooth. Pour over block of ice in punch bowl. Add both kinds of rum, pineapple juice and mango nectar. Stir well. Let mixture ripen 1 hour before serving. Cut remaining 2 bananas into slices about 1/2 in. thick. Cut limes into thin slices. Float banana and lime slices on punch.

[recipe_title]Phi Beta Blueberry[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1 fifth vodka, 100 proof[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]16 ozs. Metaxa[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]16 ozs. bottled blueberry syrup 12 ozs. lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 quarts club soda[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 lemons[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 pint cultivated blueberries[/drinkRecipe]

Chill all ingredients. Pour vodka, Metaxa, blueberry syrup and lemon juice over large block of ice in punch bowl. Let mixture ripen 1 hour before serving. Pour club soda into bowl and stir. Cut lemons into thin slices. Float lemon slices and blueberries on punch.

[recipe_title]Apple Cinger Punch[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]24 ozs. apple brandy, either calvados or applejack[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. maraschino liqueur 2 ozs. kirsch[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart pineapple-grapefruit juice 24 ozs. green ginger wine[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart plus 1 pint ginger beer[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 red apples[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 yellow apples[/drinkRecipe]

Chill all ingredients. Pour all liquids except ginger beer over large block of ice in punch bowl. Stir well. Let mixture ripen 1 hour. Cut apples, with skin, into wedgelike slices, discarding core. Just before serving, pour ginger beer into bowl. Float apple slices on top.

[recipe_title]Moselle Bowl[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1 very ripe pineapple, medium size[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]12 ozs. sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe][drinkRecipe]12 ozs. Grand Marnier[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]16 ozs. brandy[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]4 24-oz. bottles moselle wine[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart large ripe strawberries[/drinkRecipe]

Cut ends off pineapple; remove shell and all "eyes" and cut lengthwise into 4 pieces. Cut away hard core from each piece, then cut crosswise into thin slices. Place pineapple, sugar, Grand Marnier and brandy in salad bowl or mixing bowl. Marinate, covered, in refrigerator at least 24 hours —48 hours if possible. Wine must be well chilled. Pour wine into punch bowl with large block of ice. Add pineapple mixture and stir well. Let mixture ripen in bowl 1/2 hour before serving. Cut stems off strawberries. Cut lengthwise in half and float on punch.

[recipe_title]Cape Cod Cranberry Punch[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]2 quarts plus 6 ozs. cranberry juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart 100-proof vodka[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]6 ozs. cherry liqueur[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 tablespoon orange-flower water[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]24 ozs. orange juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 teaspoon ground cinnamon[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 teaspoon ground allspice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 limes[/drinkRecipe]

Chill all liquid ingredients. Mix cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg with a small amount of vodka until a smooth paste, free of lumps, is formed. Pour the paste and all other liquids over large block of ice in punch bowl. Stir well. Let mixture ripen 1 hour before serving. Cut limes into thin slices and float on punch.

[recipe_title]Florentine Punch[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]2 21-oz. bottles coffee-cream marsala wine[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 24-oz. bottles Italian rosé wine[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 fifth plus 8 ozs. brandy[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]4 ozs. lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 oranges[/drinkRecipe]

Chill all ingredients. Pour both kinds of wine, brandy and lemon juice over large block of ice in punch bowl. Stir well. Let mixture ripen 1 hour. Cut oranges into thin slices. Cut slices in half and float on punch.

[recipe_title]Champagne Blues[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]4 fifths dry champagne[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 fifth blue curaçao[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]8 ozs. lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Peel of 2 lemons[/drinkRecipe]

Chill all ingredients. Cut lemon peel into strips 1-1/2 to 2 ins. long and 1/4 in. wide. Pour curaçao and lemon juice into glass punch bowl. Stir well. Add champagne and stir slightly. Float lemon peel, yellow side up, in bowl. Do not use ice in punch bowl. It may be surrounded by cracked ice, if desired, by placing glass bowl in bowl of larger diameter.

The high-spirited anthology above would do honor to the best efforts of a Garrick or a Johnson, and might even slake the thirst of Admiral Russell. Come, gentlemen, fill the cup …