I read some articles earlier in the summer about punch making a comeback in the cocktail world.  I was generally discouraged by many of the suggested recipes because I don’t like my drinks that sweet.  Besides, I’m not typically making drinks for enough people to justify a punchbowl.

Luckily, all that changed this weekend.

Fully understanding this tale requires a very short trip in the way-back machine to last June.  I was down at Buckeye Farm (a stunning country house in Rappahannock County, VA, recently featured on Apartment Therapy and owned by some lovely people to whom Tessa-boy is lucky enough to be related by marriage) celebrating the end of the CFA Level I exam.  We’d been making various cocktails throughout the long weekend when I entered into a conversation with my hostess about how she could use as many of the fresh and beautiful herbs she had grown as possible.  We decided we should create simple syrups and infused liquors.  I set about harvesting lavender, rosemary, and dill before leaving the next day.

Herbs and flowers flourishing on Buckeye Farm

The lavender and rosemary were mostly boiled, strained, and then re-boiled with sugar added in to create syrups.  I took some jars of these syrups with me and left some at the Farm.  I also took three Ball jars and filled them thus:

1) lavender and gin

2) rosemary and gin

3) dill and vodka

When I returned to the Farm this weekend, the three jars (along with some remaining lavender syrup) were waiting patiently.  The lavender was darkest, a rich caramel color.  The rosemary was the most aromatic, with a light yellowish-green hue. The dill was the lightest of all.

All three were amazing for martinis or simple concoctions with a liqueur/syrup added in – the dill made a spectacular vodka-tonic.

But the real value of the whole enterprise was the Sunday night barbecue with about 20 people.  When helping prepare for the event, people were clear that we should use these locally (from the garden we would be sitting in) flavored drinks to enhance the milieu.  I realized that trying to introduce 20 people to unfamiliar drinks could be awkward and take lots of time.  Plus, this is the country: people have to drive home (on dark winding roads, no less).

PUNCH

The elegant solution happened to be a trendy one.  I could make punches that would use the local ingredients, match the rustic/historic feel of the area, refresh the party, and prevent my bed being taken by guests too sodden to drive.  By all accounts the plan worked.  Here’s what I made:

Buckeye Farm Gin Punch

0.5 cups lavender gin

1 cup gin

0.5 cup lavender syrup

0.25 cups chamomile grappa

1.5 cups French lemonade

a little dry vermouth

a splash of St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

0.5 cups powdered sugar

2 lemons

peach bitters

Tweak it to taste in a pitcher, then double the amount of liquid with sparkling water.  Pour into a punch bowl with a single block of ice that has fruit pieces frozen into it.

Rose Sparkler

1 bottle sparkling rose

0.5 cup Cointreau

0.5 cup St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

1.5 cup orangeade

orange bitters

Tweak it to taste in a pitcher, then double the amount of liquid with sparkling water.  Pour into a punch bowl with a single block of ice that has fruit pieces frozen into it.