Having guests over for New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day? Unless you want to spend the evening playing bartender, serve punch. It’s a great way to control alcohol consumption If you’re really ambitious, offer a variety of punches. It’s also a good way to control the alcohol consumption. Keep your punch cold without diluting the contents by using stainless steel ice cubes, an ice ring made in a gelatin mold or nestle the punch bowl in a larger container filled with crushed ice. Pre-mix a back-up batch and keep it in the refrigerator until needed, adding any carbonated beverage just before serving. Wow, look at that, you’re enjoying your guests instead of mixing drinks.
Here are a half dozen punch recipes. Most are perfectly delicious if you omit the booze and substitute ginger ale or lemon-lime soda. Do you have a favorite festive punch? Let’s hear about it.
Pomegranate Champagne
Punch From Bon Appetit, a stunningly beautiful bowl of deliciousness combines dry Champagne, white rum and pomegranate juice. Get the recipe.
Go traditional and chase away winter chills with this fruity/spicy recipe with a red wine base from the Williamsburg Cookbook. Get the recipe.
New Year’s Punch from Taste of Home
A non-alcoholic brew of pineapple, apple and lemon juice combined with tea and ginger ale. Spike it if you like with white rum. Get the recipe.
Peppermint Egg Nog Punch Egg nog, peppermint ice cream, ginger ale and rum. Yum! Get the recipe at Allrecipes.com.
Bloody Mary Punch The perfect drink for a New Year’s Day brunch and a lot easier than mixing them one-by-one. Get the recipe.
Hot Mulled Wine In Scandinavia, it’s called glogg (meaning glow), but it’s delicious in any language and welcome on a cold winter evening. Make it in your slow cooker to keep it steamy Get the recipe.