Punch
Also known as: punch bowl, Planter's punch
In short
Punch is the oldest family of bar culture: spirit, water, citrus, sugar and spice from a big bowl. We explain the five parts, the sailors' story and the kinship with the sour.
In depth
What is a punch?
Punch is the oldest family of bar culture: spirit, water, citrus, sugar and spice, classically the five of them from a big bowl for the whole round. The history is well documented: in the 17th century sailors and merchants on the way to India brought punch back to England, and the name presumably comes from the Hindi word panch, meaning five, for the five ingredients.
The five
- Spirit: classically arrack or rum, today also gin, whiskey and cognac
- Water or soda: later tea became part of the liquid half as well
- Citrus: lemon or lime, fresh and generous
- Sugar: often as oleo saccharum, the sugar shell made from citrus peels, more on that in our oleo saccharum entry
- Spice: nutmeg, cinnamon or cloves provide the depth
Punch today
Punch is the most communal drink in bar culture: one bowl, one ladle, one round. Jerry Thomas lists punches in his guide of 1862, the Planter's punch became a classic, and today's craft bars have rediscovered the bowl. No wonder, since hardly any drink spreads this much good mood at once.
Distinction: punch and sour
Many cocktail historians see the sour as the shrunken formula of punch: the round for many became the drink for one, citrus and sugar stayed. More on the formula is in our sour entry.
Remember: the punch is the big round, the sling the simple formula, the rickey the dry variant, the spritz the Italian evening, the nog the velvety family.
At our lounge
Punch is the grand gesture, and whoever has a round to celebrate is welcome to ask: the bowl is the oldest way to toast together, and to this day the coziest.