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NATIONAL MANGO BOARD BEVERAGE TRENDS

PACKING a Festive, communal drinks are making a big splash in the PUNCH cocktail world

BY JACK ROBERTIELLO

hen the prices for cut-glass punch bowls — punch is meant to be quaffable and relatively low in began to skyrocket on auction websites and at alcohol — inspires bartenders to offer lighter, less-intense W flea markets a couple of years ago, sellers of versions of popular drinks like the . antique glassware must have been puzzled. But cocktail- Even where serving customers drinks in large glass scene observers weren’t; they knew that the bowls doesn’t fit an operator’s concept, some bartenders revivalists had turned their attention to another lost have matched the basic service idea and returned to American beverage tradition: punch. The bowl of cheer, offering batches in pitchers, like the margaritas or sangrias long relegated to attics and hauled out only every few that make a splash each . Yuletides, suddenly had become a fixture of voguish charm In execution, there’s among some bartenders and cocktail mavens. nothing complicated about As yet another sign that everything old is new again punch; even the mise en when it comes to American drinking trends, the return of place is elementary. As punch has the potential to be more than just an attention- established by tradition, getting gimmick. Predating the cocktail in mixed-drink punch is a light and history, punch offers customers the charm of an authentic, refreshing libation, made antiquated drinking practice that’s both refreshing and to be suitable for different convivial. palates, conducive to Bar operators like the concept not only for its wealth of convivial sharing among historic recipes and traditions, which fit nicely into the many people and with current rescuing of lost bar customs, but also because the least amount of fuss serving communal drinks with style can be quick, easy and for the host — or, in efficient, no matter how complicated the recipe. And the this case, the bar drinks are usually fun, fruity and refreshing enough to operator. In some appeal to almost everyone in a group. ways, punch is the ur- cocktail, the first ONE FOR ALL social apparition of a Today, at Clover Club in Brooklyn, New York; at Death & multi-ingredient Co. in Manhattan; at Rickhouse in San Francisco; at alcohol-based drink. Ten-01 in Portland, Ore.; and at many places in between, punches offer an appealing focus for groups of customers. The communal drinks often go beyond traditional recipes to incorporate contemporary ingredients while generally Cocktail expert David Wondrich retraces still honoring the spirit of punch. Sometimes, the concept punch’s earliest origins in his latest book.

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At Cantina in San Francisco, owner Duggan McDonnell follows a five-ingredient formula for pitcher drinks. A N I T N A C

fact, punch derives from the Hindi word “paunch,” meaning five. “The five-ingredient formula always works well, and there is some culinary merit on how they work together on the palate,” says Duggan McDonnell, owner of San Francisco’s Cantina. McDonnell isn’t serving punches in bowls but does offer punch-like, communal drinks in pitchers. The first punch may have been brought to by sailors returning from India in the early 17th century, but their version

was undoubtedly much stronger than those

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C ultimately tamed by British hosts.

& H

T “The original recipes made for light and

A E D THE PUNCH LIST balanced punch; you could see how people Punches originally were made from specific would write about having had three bowls,” Punch-bowl service turns recipes, closely guarded and executed with says Wondrich. heads at Death & Co. in little variation, says cocktail historian David Overall, an old Caribbean ditty established New York City. Wondrich, who authored “Imbibe!” and is more or less the basic recipe — “One of sour, putting the finishing touches on his book two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak” — “Punch: the Delights (and Dangers) of the with a dash of bitters or added for Flowing Bowl.” The recipes usually were piquancy, and the service moved to New limited, at least at first, to five ingredients; in World taverns and parties.

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Generally, the mix calls for spirits (originally and rum or sherry), with The citrus, , water and tea or spices. FL AVOR PAYOFF OLD- AND NEW-WORLD VERSIONS Credited with starting the punch revival in London is Nick Strangeway, who created a Punch It Up buzz for the Hawksmoor steakhouse when he offered a half-dozen punches or so at a time Fruity, retro and just sweet enough — punches work for every on the menu. Strangeway recently went drink program, says David Commer, a Lewisville, Texas-based upscale to chef Mark Hix’s Hix in London, chain-account beverage specialist with more than 30 years where the menu today might include the experience in the hospitality industry. Here are his tips for picking Criterion Milk Punch, a drink of rum and and mixing the best punch or punch-like drinks for your menu. brandy infused with pineapple and citrus, mix and milk, aged and clarified before Make a Vacation: Go for Hurricanes, Mai Tais and other tiki- serving over ice. tropical quaffs for patio and poolside settings, or for re-creations of Another of his claims to fame is Guy’s vacation scenes Punch, which mixes brandy, pineapple-infused Group Think: For every shared appetizer sampler, suggest a rum, spiced syrup, , lemon sherbet shared punch pairing, served in a pitcher and festive glassware and green tea and is served hot or cold. While Strangeway’s recipes tend toward Go Big: Keep vodka, tequila or other spirits infused with in revivals of the classics, American bars are big, glass dispensers at the bar; ready for easy mixing of signature adapting the style to modern tastes as well. drinks, they also make great conversation starters Julie Reiner, owner of Clover Club in Cool the Coladas: Piña Coladas take on a fresher feel with Brooklyn, last winter served one based on updated fruit like honeydew, mixed berry, peach, passion Spanish albarino , for instance. For her, fruit or guava

Make it Pop: A nice measure of carbonation in the punch mix works for the age demographic that grew up drinking soda

Soften the Sweets: Try honey, agave and maple for sweeteners that don’t overpower fresh fruit flavors

Use Pro Blends: Some flavors of commercial syrups, like mixed , habanero-mango and florals, are best left to the pros

Double Up: When using watery like watermelon and strawberries, or off-season produce, adding a flavored syrup helps punch up the flavors and colors; bitters offers more magic flavor enhancement

— Kathy Hayden

Fruit choices are easy to change with seasonal punches; here, red grapefruit makes a festive

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E holiday version of the communal drink. E

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The Rickhouse menu offers four punches, suitable for four to eight customers, at a time, and rather than focusing on pure seasonality and what’s fresh in the market, it honors the season in other ways. “We like to have the punches appropriate for the holidays,” notes Erick Castro, general manager of Rickhouse. “Last winter, we had a lot of and flavors in the punches, while closer to the spring we make them lighter, using gin with celery or cucumber. Punches are really an easy way to reflect the seasons.” With people needing to settle among themselves what to order, it’s important to be in sync not only with the weather and climate but also the general, seasonal mood, and the more festive, the better. So Pimm’s Berry Punch, with Pimm’s Cup, gin-berry puree, ginger, sparkling water and citrus, does well in the warmer months, while the potent Little Monster’s Exotic Punch (rum, oloroso sherry, allspice dram, juice, cane sugar and nutmeg) does better when the climate and customs require darker, richer flavors. Reiner rotates seasonal recipes. Punches based on rum tend to be popular with her guests, as are sparkling-wine punches; one of her favorites includes fresh berries, elderflower , crème de cassis, and rosé Champagne. E S U

O Last winter, she reports, the Old World H K C I

R Punch, made with cognac, dark rum, English breakfast tea, lemon juice, demerara syrup At Rickhouse in San serving punch provides a double pleasure: It and nutmeg, did well, as the dark and robust Francisco, Erick Castro’s not only fits the throwback feel of the saloon flavors fit seasonal drinking trends. Such punches set seasonal and but also provides a chance to employ her changes tend to favor lighter, white-spirit- even holiday moods, with collection of antique bowls and cups. based punches in the warmer months and warming spices in winter and berries in summer. At Death & Co., one of the forerunners of dark rum and brandy in the fall and winter. the American punch revival, milk-glass But it’s the service style that has really caught punch bowls arrive with matching cups and a on, she says. silver ladle. The recipes change — currently, “It’s interesting how serving punch makes the menu includes Nuts & Sherry Punch with people turn their heads, and all at once, the toasted-pecan-infused bourbon, East India table that is served is the center of sherry, allspice dram (a spicy, rum-based conversation, and the bowl itself brings liqueur), fresh pineapple and lime and people together.” bitters. Pisco Punch blends strawberry- and It’s part of the charm of punch but also the pineapple-infused pisco, maraschino liqueur challenge, says Rickhouse’s Castro. “It has to and lime juice, while Mother’s Ruin Punch be a crowd pleaser. That’s the tricky thing pairs gin with tea-infused sweet vermouth, about punch; it has to be something that fresh lemon and grapefruit juice and everyone can like, since it’s communal Champagne. drinking.”

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For Julie Reiner at New ALL IN THE MIX Sometimes, seemingly disparate flavors York City’s Clover Club, Castro points out that adding certain spices fortify each other or combine to create a punch is a way to can subtly change a punch over the course of unique flavor profile. Castro likes the way showcase antique bowls service, with ingredients like star anise such sweeteners as agave syrup and grenadine and cups and serve fun drinks like “Punch the imparting a stronger impact fairly quickly. work together to create a subtly different Village Idiot.” The Rickhouse manages dilution, another quality. He compares mixing blanco tequila flavor issue for a beverage meant to be and applejack (American apple brandy) in dawdled over, by having large, slowly melting punches to creating something like an apple- ice blocks custom-made for the bowls. flavored reposado (“rested and aged”) tequila. As McDonnell points out, large-format Punches also provide a solution to some drinks like pitchers and punches also allow operational problems — specifically, how to bartenders to use high-potency or intensely serve many people efficiently during a rush. flavored ingredients as accents, rather than While bars generally don’t make as much profit centerpieces, in drinks. In his herbaceous and from punch service, the high volume, along with savory Monk’s , with Chartreuse, press and public attention, more than makes up Sauvignon Blanc, rhum agricole, sugar, , for the investment in implements and such. bitters and seltzer, the approximately one-ounce Large recipes at Cantina are made like any other addition of pungent rhum agricole (cane-juice- cocktail and mixed in an enormous shaker tin. based rum) gives the drink “a kick in the pants, But success, of course, brings its own issues. like a dash of bitters in a Manhattan.” Some nights, there’s a waiting list to order drinks served in one of the Rickhouse’s 14 punch bowls. But for all that, punches turn out TAKE- AWAY TIPS to be a convenient bridge between the seriously geeky cocktail crowd and the average tippler. BUY A BIG BOWL: One eye-catching bowl, filled with a nightly As Castro says, “It’s a little piece of cocktail special punch, is a great conversation starter at the bar history being introduced to people without TAKE FIVE: Punch’s five-ingredient and lower-alcohol formula is a beating them over the head with it.” & great cocktail option, no matter how it’s served TAKE A PITCHER: Offer fun, fruity, rum-based drinks in pitchers for whole tables to enjoy JACK ROBERTIELLO writes about spirits, CAPTURE THE COMMUNAL SPIRIT: Summer is a great time to cocktails, wine, beer and food from Brooklyn, serve any drink communally; try , sangrias and margaritas in N.Y.; he can be e-mailed at [email protected]. pitchers or other big-service pieces

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