⋋ Modern Punch ⋋
Entering party season presents a plethora of choices for eager hosts. Once you’ve pegged your canapé menu (or opted for this writers safe bet: a big bowl of chilli, guac + some steamed rice) and scored your mates to DJ, your attention should turn to the drinks offering. Beyond bottled beers in a bucket and everything you have left over on the dusty spirits shelf, why not think about a modern spin on a punch?
When we sat down to plan our Autumn Menu we knew the season would run us through Halloween and right up to Christmas so, for the first time, we built a sharing cocktail for parties and bigger groups where you can order a pre-batch bottle to share amongst the table (just like a punch). The twist is to get yourself a Soda Siphon and some CO2 charges from your local catering supplier for extra carbonation to create your own cocktail version of a bottle of bubbles.
Ours is the ShowJow Public, a spin on a sparkling 90s fave: the Cosmopolitan. Aka. the poly-pleasure bottle-rocket.
ShowJoe Public
(Non)Traditional Sour – Cosmopolitan
12 oz (360 ml) Jinro Soju 24
3 oz (90 ml) Birds Botanical Spirit
8 oz (240 ml) BTW Apple Cranberry Kombucha*
8 squirts Bittermens New England Spiced Cranberry Bitters
2 oz (60 ml) cold water
Mix together all the ingredients in a measuring jug and check you level is at 750 ml. The cold water replaces the water content the drink would acquire if shaking a single serve from dissolution of the ice in the shaker. You now need to get your mix VERY COLD in order to carbonate, so stick it in the freezer to get it down to below zero (without the mix actually freezing).
Add to an ISI Soda Siphon, but make sure you remove the long straw when assembling the kit (this is to dispense water and prevents carbonation when not using water!) Seal, charge (once) and shake vigorously. Put the unit in the fridge for an hour or two.
Take the dispenser out of the fridge and slowly release the pressure - you do not want it to foam up inside so bubbles start coming out the spout, we only want to relieve the pressure. Once it’s all out unscrew the top and viola!
Gather an empty sparkling wine bottle that you have cleaned thoroughly and dispense the contents of the siphon into the bottle gently to avoid overspill. Cap the bottle with a champagne stopper and store in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. The bottle should yield 8 serves.
*nb: If you don’t make your own kombucha (which, let’s be frank, you probably don’t) you could replace this element with a cranberry and apple juice and caster sugar to taste (dissolved in). If you do make kombucha get in touch for our recipe!
