Another year, another Thanksgiving successfully navigated. This morning, many of you may be waking up with a sore head after one too many hot toddies. Or perhaps this year, the family political argument got a touch out of hand – we’ve all been there. Not to worry, it’s time to put your feet up and relax it’s all over until next year.
Only joking: the post-Thanksgiving run-up to Christmas can be one of the busiest times of the year. So it’s time to pull your socks up, pop your hosting hat on and start devising some of the finest dinner parties, shindigs, social affairs and generally enjoyable evenings known to man. And I think nothing screams an enjoyable evening like a large bowl of punch.
Thought to have been enjoyed by the British during the 1650s, punch drinking quickly accelerated in popularity and reached its peak during the 1800s. At this stage punch’s reputation had slipped downhill – it was now associated with riotous drunken behavior and debauchery. While we don’t condone the potentially adverse after-effects of a homemade bowl of nondescript alcohol, we do think it’s time this classic party drink made a bit of a resurgence, so perhaps it’s best to stick to a recipe. This punch is from the team over at Dewar’s Scotch Whisky and it’s a real winner.
Picture the scene: it’s a cold winter evening, snow is falling and you’re cold to the core. Thankfully you have arrived at your destination. The host opens the door and you’re immediately greeted by a large bowl of punch. It’s a fun help-yourself affair, bursting with winter flavors and with just enough kick to get the evening started. From the host’s perspective, it’s far simpler than whipping out the cocktail shaker and means they get to spend more time enjoying the evening with guests, rather than messing around making cocktails. Everyone’s a winner.
The addition of star anise and cinnamon sticks in Dewar’s Spiced Pear and Whisky Punch makes this tipple a distinctly Christmassy affair, however, flavors can be altered for the warmer months. The classic English Pimm’s and lemonade is essentially a summer punch and is incomplete without a combination of berries and cucumber in the glass.
So for any of the evenings you have coming up for the remainder of 2024, why not give a bowl of Dewar’s pear & whisky punch a go? It’s creative, you can tweak the recipe however you like and there’s even a bit of audience participation involved. Help yourself!
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Ingredients
— 1 bottle Dewar’s 12-Year
— 4 cups pear juice
Content from our partners
— 2 cups ginger beer
— 1 cup fresh lemon juice
— 1 cup simple syrup
— 2 cinnamon sticks
— 4-5 star anise pods
— Pear slices, lemon slices, and cinnamon sticks for garnish
Method
For goodness sake, it’s punch, there’s really no need to overcomplicate things. Add the Dewar’s 12 year, pear juice, lemon juice and simple syrup to a large bowl and give it a stir. Next for some spice, add the cinnamon sticks and star anise and leave it for 30 minutes for the flavor to infuse. Just before your first guests arrive add the ginger beer and you’re ready to serve over ice. Keep some pear and lemon slices as well as some cinnamon sticks off to the side for garnishing.
Note: Punch should only be enjoyed as part of a group. While you may enjoy making a quick solo cocktail on a quiet night in, this mentality should not carry over to punch drinking. If you do not have any friends with whom you can enjoy punch, having a solo bowl of punch will only worsen the situation.
