Drinks

Windfall Punch

  • Serves

    makes 15 cocktails

  • Cook

    15 minutes

MATT TAYLOR-GROSS

By St. John Frizell


Published on November 24, 2016

Inspired by the wealth of high-quality, dry American cider available today, St. John Frizell of Fort Defiance in Brooklyn created a low-ABV punch that riffs on a classic champagne punch recipe found in Jerry Thomas' Bartenders Guide (1862), which calls for lemon, orange and pineapple juices.

Frizell says, “The recipe really came together when I added amontillado sherry, which brings a nutty, oxidized tang, and somehow calls to mind fallen leaves, which works well with the bitter-tart flavors of the cider. Altogether, it’s like a walk through an apple orchard in autumn—which is why I named it Windfall Punch, after the apples that the wind blows down from the branches."

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple juice
  • 1 13 cups simple syrup
  • 2 34 cups Amontillado sherry, preferably Lustau
  • 1 cup rum, preferably Due North
  • Angostura orange bitters, to taste
  • 5 34 cups dry hard cider, preferably Naked Flock Citra or Farnum Hill Dooryard
  • 2 cups sparkling water
  • 15 peels of orange, for garnish

Instructions

Step 1

Combine sherry, rum, lemon and pineapple juices, and simple syrup in a large punch bowl.

Step 2

Immediately before serving, add a few generous scoops of ice, cider, and sparkling water, and garnish with orange twists.

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