Champagne Holiday Punch

Name: Champagne Holiday Punch
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 8 drinks
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups genever, chilled; 1/2 cup orange curaçao, chilled; 1/2 cup Rich Simple Syrup (recipe link in intro); 10 dashes aromatic bitters, such as angostura; 1 cup sparkling water; 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1/2 cup sparkling wine or Champagne; Freshly grated nutmeg; Pineapple slices and star anise, for garnishing

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8 drinks Easy

Total: Under 5 mins Active: Under 5 mins

3 Ratings

Ingredients (9)

1 1/2 cups genever, chilled
1/2 cup orange curaçao, chilled
1/2 cup Rich Simple Syrup (recipe link in intro)
10 dashes aromatic bitters, such as angostura
1 cup sparkling water
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sparkling wine or Champagne
Freshly grated nutmeg
Pineapple slices and star anise, for garnishing

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San Francisco mixologist Erick Castro taught us how to make this easy holiday punch. It’s a flexible recipe that works with almost any base spirit. Here we use genever, blended with orange curaçao, simple syrup, bitters, sparkling water, lemon juice, sparkling wine, and a touch of grated nutmeg. Garnish with pineapple slices and whole star anise before serving. You’ll need to make a batch of Rich Simple Syrup and freeze a large block of punch ice before you begin. See how to open a Champagne bottle too, in a way that’s safe and that preserves its sparkle.

What to buy: Infused with botanicals like juniper just like London-style gin, genever (a.k.a. Holland or Dutch gin) is a maltier, funkier relative that mixes very well in cocktails. Anchor Distilling and Bols make good versions.

Adapted from Erick Castro

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Instructions

1Pour the genever, orange curaçao, simple syrup, and bitters into a punch bowl and stir to combine.
2Add the sparkling water, lemon juice, and sparkling wine or Champagne just before serving.
3Place a large block of ice in the punch and stir gently just to combine. Grate nutmeg over top of the punch, and garnish with pineapple slices and star anise.