Photo by Theresa Stanley
Holiday punch can be a simple, quick and impressive seasonal cocktail to serve when entertaining a large number of guests, and many of the ingredients can be found in your fridge or pantry. The sweet and tart flavors of the pomegranate and cranberry help bring forward the juniper berry notes of the gin, and it’s perfectly acceptable to use the value rosé for this.
Recipe serves six to eight festive glasses of punch.
Ingredients:
• 1 750 ml bottle sparkling rosé
• 1 1/4 cups gin
• 1/2 cup cranberry simple syrup
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups cranberries (1 cup for simple syrup, 1 cup reserved for garnish)
Cranberry Simple Syrup:
Combine sugar, water and one cup of cranberries in small saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve sugar and remove from heat to cool. Once cool, strain syrup. Reserve or discard cranberries.
In a large pitcher or punch bowl, combine gin, simple syrup and pomegranate juice. Add one cup of cranberries to pitcher or bowl for decoration. Stir. Add chilled sparkling rosé once you are ready to serve, and stir gently.