from How to Host a Dinner Party
A cocktail is a sophisticated way to start any evening. But mixing a good drink requires attention – measuring ingredients, stirring, tasting, icing – and at an evening’s critical beginning, your attention is needed elsewhere. This is a cocktail that can be mixed and chilled in advance, presented in a large vessel, allowing guests to serve themselves.
Ingredients
1 lemon, zest
1 orange, zest
2 oz (60 mL) gin
3 oz (80 mL) rum
2 oz (60 mL) spiced rum
2 sprigs of mint
1 oz (30 mL) Crème de Cassis (or simple syrup, fruit puree, maple syrup)
4 oz (125 mL) ginger ale
4 oz (125 mL) club soda
2 oz (60 mL) lemon juice
2 oz (60 mL) lime juice
4 oz (125 mL) orange juice
4 oz (125 mL) pink grapefruit juice
5 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
6 oz (175 mL) sparkling wine
Directions
In a 32 oz (1 L) Mason jar, combine the lemon and orange zest with the gin, rum and spiced rum. Let it sit for one to three days. Strain.
It’s better to do this earlier in the day to let the flavours mingle. Have all ingredients chilled to start.
Rub the inside of the jar with one mint sprig. Pour the liquors back in. Add the Crème d Cassis, ginger ale, club soda, lemon, lime, orange and pink grapefruit juices. Stir.
To finish, add the bitters and sparkling wine. Stir and top with fresh mint.
Serve in the jar. Or, if you’re multiplying the recipe, fill a large bowl with ice. Place the punch in a smaller bowl and mount on the ice. Put out a ladle and cups and let your guests figure it out.
Once you’ve gotten the hang of this, you can experiment with the ingredients so long as you stick to the ratios.
Serves 4
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: I like to add fresh fruit to the punch for both colour and texture. Keep to sturdy fruit to withstand sitting in liquid for some time like orange slices, strawberries, cherries, cranberries or firm peaches. Add flavoured wine for a different profile and match the fruit to that flavour. Add a cinnamon stick to each glass instead of a swirl stick for some festive flair.
Prefer an alternative to American bitters? Try Canadian Middleton’s or St. Francis Herb Farm.
Excerpted from How to Host a Dinner Party by Corey Mintz. Illustrated by Steve Murray. ©2013 Corey Mintz. Illustrations ©2013 Steve Murray. Published by House of Anansi Press How to Host a Dinner Party – House of Anansi Press