All of our StyleBlueprint sister cities are presenting great cocktail recipes for Thanksgiving today, along with some appetizers, too. (Be sure to click the links at the bottom of the post to see them all!) I’m a big believer in expert opinions, so I turned to St. Charles Exchange for their input. Wisely, they recommended a punch, a great way to serve a crowd at your house. A punch requires a little work on the front end, and allows everyone to serve themselves for the remainder of the time. It can be made in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator until serving time. It’s a win/win for everyone involved.
Uncle Tupelo’s Punch by St. Charles Exchange
Uncle Tupelo's Punch
Ingredients
- 3.25 cups Old Grandad
- 2 cups plus 1 oz. Fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup of Cointreau
- 1/2 cup of peach liqueur
- 1/2 cup of Demarara raw sugar syrup (See instructions below.)
- 1 dash of Bitter Truth aromatic bitters See instructions below.
- 2 cups of chilled water
- I gigantic ice ring or ice ball
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large punch bowl. Add slices of lemon floating on top.
- Either add one large ice ring or ice ball to the punch before serving or add ice to cups individually. Do not add ice to both the punch and the individual cups; it dilutes the punch too much.
- Demerara syrup is a simple syrup made with demerara sugar. The closest thing to this would be Sugar in the Raw.
- Bitter Truth bitters are the bitters made at St. Charles Exchange. Any bitters will substitute here.
Christopher Mitchell, bartender at St. Charles Exchange, had premixed the bourbon, lemon juice and Cointreau before I arrived to take pictures.
Here, he adds the rest of the ingredients to the punch bowl directly, measuring them out in cups as he goes.
The final concoction is stirred.
And a big block of ice is added. You could do this at home by freezing water in a round Tupperware container.
Lemon slices are floated on top, and it is ready to serve.
If you do not add ice to the punch bowl, add it individually to each cup.
If you are making this in advance, simply make the punch with no ice, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator. It will keep for a few days. When you are ready to serve, add ice.
Happy Thanksgiving, and cheers to all of our readers!
