Drinks

Touch of Evil Punch

  • Serves

    serves 8-10

  • Cook

    25 minutes

MARCUS NILSSON

This fruity, slightly smoky gin and raspberry punch has just enough mezcal to make it interesting, without making it too pungent or cloying. The recipe comes from cocktail historian David Wondrich, author of Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl (Perigee Books, 2010). Note: Allow at least 24 hours for the oleo-saccharum (sweet lemon oil).

Ingredients

  • 4 lemons
  • 34 cup sugar
  • 12 cup raspberries
  • 34 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 12 cups Plymouth gin
  • 12 cup Vida mezcal
  • 1 liter sparkling water
  • Lemon wheels, to garnish
  • Freshly grated nutmeg, to garnish

Instructions

Step 1

One day before you plan to serve the punch, fill a 1-quart container with water and freeze to make an ice block. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from the lemons in strips and place in a medium glass jar with the sugar. Seal and shake the jar to mix the sugar with the peels. Let stand in a warm place for 24 hours to infuse the sugar with the lemons' oils.

Step 2

Add the raspberries to the glass jar and muddle with the peels and sugar until the berries are crushed. Pour in the lemon juice and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour the juice through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract their juices, and discard the solids. Stir in the gin and mezcal and refrigerate the punch until ready to serve.

Step 3

To serve, pour the punch into a 1-gallon bowl and stir in the sparkling water. Unmold the ice block and add it to the punch. Garnish with lemon wheels and a grating of nutmeg.

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