Recipes · Cocktails · Drinks
St. Cecilia Society Punch
- Meal
- Top Cocktail, Beverages
- Issue
- DECEMBER 2019
Ingredients
Makes 3½ quarts, enough for 10 people to have two drinks
- 2 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger (about one two-inch-long piece)
- 2 lemons, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
- 3 ripe peaches, skins on, sliced 1/4-inch thick or 15 oz. can Del Monte peaches in syrup, drained and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 3 cups brandy
- 3/4 cup dark rum, such as Mount Gay or Barbancourt
- 1 small ripe pineapple (about 3 to 3½ lbs.)
- 3 cups cold, strongly brewed Lee Bros. Sweet Tea (recipe follows)
- 1 bottle chilled Champagne or sparkling wine
- 1 qt. chilled seltzer water or club soda
- 1 round block of ice, made by freezing water in a 4½-cup ring mold or a 6-cup bowl
For the sweet tea:
- 6 cups (1½ qts.) cold water, divided, plus more to taste
- 6 bags orange pekoe tea or 2 rounded Tbs. loose black tea, such as Lipton
- 1/2 cup sugar
Method
Wrap the ginger in a piece of cheesecloth or a strong paper towel folded like an envelope and seal with string or a large paper clip. Place it with the lemons and peaches at the bottom of a two-quart bowl. Pour the brandy and rum into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and steep in the refrigerator for at least two hours, twice that if possible.
When ready to serve, discard the ginger and peaches and transfer the lemons, brandy, and rum mixture to a six-quart punch bowl.
With a sharp knife, trim the ends of the pineapple, carefully slice off the rind, and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut the core out of each side, slice each half crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick half moons, and add them to the bowl. Pour the chilled sweet iced tea, Champagne, and seltzer into the bowl and float the ice ring in the punch. Ladle into punch glasses or teacups and serve.
Pour three cups of the water into a kettle and bring to a boil over high heat.
Strip the paper tags from the tea bags, gather the strings together, and knot them around the handle of a ladle or long-handled spoon. Place the ladle and bags in a heatproof two-quart pitcher (if using loose tea, simply put the tea in the pitcher). Pour the hot water into the pitcher and let steep 10 minutes.
Remove the tea bags (don’t squeeze them!) or if using loose tea, pass the concentrate through a strainer into another vessel and return the tea to the pitcher (discard the leaves). Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Pour in the remaining three cups of water, or more to taste. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill.
From “These 5 punch and small-bite combos will have you party-ready for every holiday festivity.”