Punch for Independence Day

My husband and I spent some of the holiday weekend in Cleveland, and part of our visit included a get-together at his father's house.  We supplied the punch.

Our original goal was to make a festive red punch, but this recipe was so intriguing to us, we had to give it a try.  It is a pretty amber color instead.  This punch was a hit even with folks who don't like the taste of alcohol.

Independence Day Punch

375 mL rye
750 mL sherry
2 2-liter bottles of ginger ale
orange, sliced

The night before your party, you need to put together the ice ring.  Use one 2 liter bottle of ginger ale to make an ice ring.  Pour half the bottle into a Bundt pan and place in freezer to firm up for a few hours.  Once the liquid is somewhat firm, but not solid, remove the pan and arrange orange slices in a pretty pattern.  Then pour the remainder of the ginger ale bottle into the Bundt pan and place back in freezer.  Leave it be until firm.

Once you are ready to serve, pour rye and sherry into punch bowl, and slightly stir.  Unmold the ice ring and place in the punch bowl.  Open second 2 liter bottle of ginger ale and pour into bowl.   Your punch bowl may not be able to hold the entire bottle of ginger ale, so be careful.

Now it is ready to serve.  The punch becomes smoother as the ginger ale ice ring melts, but some folks may want to add a bit more ginger ale to their glass early in the festivities.   You could also make your ice ring a bit smaller and pour the ginger ale directly into the punch bowl.  We wanted the punch to stay colder longer and therefore preferred a larger ice ring.

Whiskey Punch for Easter

Punch is a big hit in our house. We try to always have a flowing bowl each time we have guests.

For our Easter dinner, I decided to make a whiskey punch. Everyone enjoyed it, even folks who were hesitant because they aren't fans of whiskey. Crazy, right?

The punch was a lovely golden color and I used orange and lemon slices to garnish. To keep the punch cold, I made ice blocks in washed and reused milk and juice cartons.

Here's the recipe, but keep in mind I don't normally advocate use of juice concentrate, but I was making a lot of goodies for our meal, and it was really easy to use frozen lemonade. Plus, I don't think the taste suffers quite as much for lemonade as other flavors.

Whiskey Punch

1 can of frozen lemonade (I prefer Minute Maid)

3 cups of orange juice

18 ounces of pineapple juice

2 liters of ginger ale

1 pint of whiskey

1/2 cup of simple syrup

I combined the juices, whiskey, and simple syrup ahead of time to meld flavors and kept everything in the refrigerator. Just before serving, I placed the ice blocks and fruit slices in the punch bowl. I gave the mixture one last stir in the refrigerator pitcher, then poured over the ice. Finally, I added the 2 liter bottle of ginger ale.