The super bowl

The super bowl

They look great, are easy to make and serve, and they’re likely to help your bottom line, too. Isn’t it time that you shared in the benefits of the punch bowl, asks Clinton Cawood

Bigger is better – everyone knows that. They certainly did a few centuries ago, and particularly when it came to drink, when vats of the stuff would be served whenever the opportunity presented itself. In recent years, the UK bar trade has been rediscovering the joys of communal drink, and it is no longer uncommon to see bargoers refilling dainty teacups from antique punch bowls.

And about time, too. For the right occasion, of which there are plenty, punch is ideal, benefiting both your customers and your bar.

Like many classic drinks, the origins of punch are uncertain, and accounts vary widely. What we do know is that it pre-dates the cocktail, with references going back at least to the 17th century.

While it’s possible to make a single-serve version of a punch recipe, and call it that, for our purposes punch will refer to a drink served in bulk.

‘It’s unfortunate that maybe a few decades ago, people would associate punches with drinks that people would throw together with anything that was leftover,’ says Julian de Feral from Lutyens in London. ‘Fortunately, people are now realising that there are great recipes,’ he adds, before going on to describe his take on the classic Fish House Punch (see recipe on p.61).

Crucially, punch is an easy sell to customers for a variety of occasions. This has certainly been the case at Callooh Callay in east London, known for its tiki punch served in a gramophone.

‘It’s good for people who can’t decide what they want,’ says Andrea Montague. ‘Customers get a good deal, the punch bowls fit in with the decor, and it adds a bit of theatre to the place.’

At HUNter 486 at The Arch London, Alastair Burgess is of a similar opinion. ‘For me, the main reason for doing a punch is that it’s easier for non-cocktail drinkers to order – you give them a simple, well-balanced and generally fruity drink that they can all share, and get good value. It gets around the whole bottle-service thing. It’s more inventive than that.’

Not only that, but it looks good, which helps to sell more. As Worldwide Cocktail Club’s Henry Besant puts it: ‘Punch has high visual impact, whether its a treasure chest at Mahiki, a huge floral silver bowl at Circus, or an antique glass punch bowl at Hawksmoor... the punch is the showy drag queen of the drinks world. It makes everyone smile and puts a drink in their hand.’

The East Room’s Alex Orwin, who spoke to us just hours before the bar burned to the ground, agrees. ‘It’s very much about the serve itself,’ he says. ‘It’s a gimmick, and everyone loves a gimmick. People think ‘I can have a drink in a glass, or I can have a big bowl of punch that comes with a ladle, and I can dish it out...’

There are distinct upsides from an operator perspective, too. ‘One benefit is the speed of serving a number of people,’ says Besant. ‘This is obviously one of the reasons it was used originally – especially by the nobility. It was a way of getting a welcome drink to a group of people.’

As Orwin explains: ‘It takes the pressure off service. People can pre-order punches, and we can get them prepped beforehand.’ Burgess takes this further at HUNter 486, pre-mixing punch as a matter of course. ‘We just put a few bottles of punch mix in the fridge, so all you need to do is pour it out, add the ice and the mixer... it’s a £150 sale in one-and-a-half minutes. And if you run out you can send a barback to make a few more, which takes 10 minutes.’

Most bartenders agree about the economic benefits as well. ‘I think it makes a difference, because you can adjust the drink a lot more,’ says de Feral. ‘I know there are classic proportions, but I certainly don’t stick to them. People are less concerned about how strong punch is. It’s not going to get returned like a Martini would because it’s over-diluted. The moment you lift a bottle of rum and pour the whole thing in... they don’t do the math and realise that’s only two-and-a-half shots per person. They just look at it and go, “my God, you guys are crazy!”’

Orwin is less convinced about the actual margins, but says: ‘It’s about selling a lot of booze all at once. You’re probably making less money per single drink, but it’s good in terms of getting money over the counter.’

There is significant scope for creativity in terms of when and how to serve communal drinks, and these can apply to a broad spectrum of venues. ‘If you’re serving a drink in a punch bowl, you need a group of people, and ones that are open minded,’ says de Feral. ‘There’s a sense of occasion, but I don’t think it’s regulated by temperature or the season... the punch bowl itself is a festivity.’

It’s something to remember. Occasion should help to guide you as to what punch to serve and how, but certainly not whether to serve one or not. Ask those parties of punch drinkers on both sides of the Atlantic just a few centuries ago.

Many thanks to Hawksmoor for hosting the photo shoot, and for their help making the drinks for it.

The smell of the greasepaint
Dear boy, a punch is not just about the drink, it’s a piece of theatre...

It’s just not punch if you don’t serve it in a punch bowl. Or a gramophone, or a cannon. The point is, the receptacle is important, as are the cups. Without them, as Henry Besant puts it, ‘it’s just a really large drink.’ There are three main paths to punch-bowl perfection:

MAINSTREAM

For the road more travelled, there are various options. Department stores like Selfridges or John Lewis are a good starting point. In addition, your wholesaler is likely to stock an affordable solution.

CUSTOM

If you’ve got a more specific idea in mind, and have the budget for it, creating something customised is definitely the way to go. From modifications to existing bowls, to custom glassware from scratch, you’ve got endless options here.

When The Hoxton Pony was starting up, Gerry Calabrese and Andy Pearson looked for a way to present their sharing cocktails, eventually producing custom ‘infusion jars’ with a sealed cooling solution, and bespoke teacups to go with them. If you’re taking this route, it might be worth getting a brand involved. Those famous gramophone punch bowls (pictured) at Callooh Callay, for example, are sponsored by Seven Tiki Rum.

OLD-SCHOOL

This is really dependent on the style of your bar, as well as your capacity for trawling markets for glassware. Nowadays, if you head down to your local antique market you’re likely to see a bartender or two already scouring the place for the right cups to match a cut-crystal punch bowl they’ve just found.

The more lateral thinking you apply to this the better... As an example, Alastair Burgess and Rupert Lovibond at HUNter 486 source glassware from a market in Hampshire. As Alex Orwin from The East Room puts it: ‘If you want your stuff to look original and not like you’ve just bought it from Ascot Wholesale, you have to have a really look around, scour small artisan shops, marketplaces, and perhaps even head abroad.’

And if you’d rather not traipse around this country and others, there’s always eBay – a cursory search revealed an array of vintage bowls, cups and ladles.

Six of the best
Half a dozen buttock-slappingly good punches to get you started

SOCIAL SCENE
Luxury hotel bar punch
by Alastair Burgess, HUNter486

560ml Hendricks gin

80ml Punt e Mes

80ml Aperol

160ml crème de cassis

80ml crème de fraises de bois

320ml lemon juice

240ml strawberry purée

160ml sugar syrup

Method: The above ingredients go into the mix. When ready to serve, top with ginger ale or champagne. Serve with a big block of ice. Crack in two as it’s placed in the punch bowl.

FISH HOUSE PUNCH ROYALE
One to serve to the Americans
by Julian de Feral, Lutyens

100ml Appleton VX

50ml Goslings Rum

100ml Remy Martin VSOP

50ml sugar syrup 1:1

50ml Boiron peach purée

50ml lemon juice

Angostura bitters to taste

Half a bottle of sparkling wine

Garnish: Cinnamon stick, some grapes and some limes.
Method: Combine ingredients. Grate nutmeg on top of the whole concoction and churn.

GREENHOUSE PUNCH
A springtime drink
by Joe McCanta, Saf

70cl bottle of high proof gin (such as Blackwood’s 60)

500ml fresly squeezed lime juice (chuck lime skins in after)

70cl bottle Cointreau

1/2 70cl bottle Grant’s Morello Cherry or Cherry Heering

70cl sugar syrup (1:1)

1 generous heap of fresh basil and tarragon leaves

1 handful of kaffir lime leaves

Method: In the bottom of the punch bowl muddle the tarragon, basil and lime leaves. Add the sugar syrup, Cointreau, lime and gin. Add a large block of ice and drizzle some of the cherry brandy in the centre. Serve cold.

HONEYBELL PUNCH
For a celebratory summer solstice party
by Joe McCanta, Saf

2 parts dark demerara rum (such as Skipper)

1/2 part rhum agricole (such as Trois Rivières)

1 part tangelo juice (if you have none of this, mix tangerine and grapefruit juice)

1 part freshly squeezed pomegranate juice

Summertime Shrub Mix*

Garnish: Orange and lemon wheels.
Method: Mix all together in a large punch bowl with a single block of ice in the centre. Serve cold and let dilute.

* 2 parts raspberries and strawberries

1 part demerara sugar

1 part water

1.5 parts apple cider vinegar

Spice pack of the following in equal parts: dried ginger, fennel seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, Szechuan pepper, cloves, star anise.

Cover the berries in the sugar and vinegar and let it sit overnight. The next day add the water and spice pack and muddle the berries until thick and ‘bits-y’. Transfer with a blunt strainer (removing just the larger parts) to a glass container and keep refrigerated.

COURVOISIER SIDECAR
An easy, supersized take on the classic

2 parts Courvoisier Exclusif / VS

1 part triple sec

1 part lemon juice

Top with lemonade

Garnish: Cut orange and lemons slices.
Method: Fill punch bowl halfway with cubed ice, fresh lemon, Courvoisier, triple sec and top with lemonade.

USE THE FORCE
For a sunny summer afternoon
by Tim Gould, Hawksmoor

180ml homemade rhubarb gin

75ml homemade rhubarb syrup

225ml Chegworth Valley apple and rhubarb juice

60ml lemon Juice

60ml Aperol

400ml ginger ale

Garnish: Apple fan, whole lemon slices and caramelised rhubarb.
Method: Combine all in a large punch bowl, add cubed iced and stir until mixed. Add more ice and then top with ginger ale.

Float like a butterfly... punching tips from the pros
Lead wid da fruit, keep it tight wid da ice and hit ‘em in da wallet

KEEP IT FRESH

HUNter 486’s Alastair Burgess offers his advice: ‘For me, punches have always been fresh tasting and generally fruit-based. The worst thing is to make it too sweet – you need to build it like you would a normal drink. And as much as I love a Corpse Reviver, I don’t want to drink a bowl of it.’

ADD SOME LIFT

For Julian de Feral at Lutyens, there’s an easy way to brighten up a punch. ‘Often the reason I’m doing one is to save the hassle of shaking. But that can end in overly strong drinks that lack a bit of sparkle, so I like to add soda water or prosecco. A quarter bottle of prosecco is enough to give it a bit of texture.’

GET THE RIGHT ICE

For cold punches, using the right ice is essential. Henry Besant explains: ‘You’re going for a chilled neat serve, so it’s best to use one huge ice cube.’ De Feral agrees, saying: ‘It’s okay if you’ve got a group of eight or nine people, but if it’s four or five, it’s something they can really take their time over, so you want something that won’t dilute.’

THINK SEASONAL

When creating a punch recipe, Besant advises being aware of the seasons: ‘Warm punches are amazing when it’s cold. At Circus we started with only sparkling, but we soon added a warm punch.’

LOOK FOR ZING

Besant has another tip to add zing to your punch. ‘One of the things that pokes its head up in old recipes is flavoured sugars, like sherbets. It adds a specific sparkle to the drink – it almost crackles. You cook the sugar with the fruit so it infuses. As the sugar dissolves in the drink the fruit flavour really pops up.’

Editorial feature from Imbibe Magazine – May/June 2010