This festive Merry Punch is the perfect boozy cocktail to serve a crowd. It’s a little sweet, a little tart, a little bitter, and very boozy. With Aperol and grapefruit, this concoction makes a perfect apertif. This recipe can be scaled to serve as many as you like! Serve this punch at your next family or friendly holiday gathering!
Merry Christmas!
I hope your day is filled with all of the magical wonder that this special day brings.
And with delicious boozy cocktails like this one.
This punch, you guys.
- It’s sweet.
- It’s tart.
- It’s bitter.
- It’s PERFECT!
And it serves a crowd, so #winning.
I made this punch a couple weeks back for my friends Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities. It’s not Friendsgiving….
It’s THANKSMAS.
And we take Thanksmas v serious around here. Particularly our hosts.
See, my BFFs Sara and Will met in college at a school with a majority student population from out of state. That meant, that when the holidays came round (specifically Thanksgiving), that most everyone remained at school due to the short weekend, and the rapidly approaching month long holiday break. And, because they obviously still wanted to celebrate the holidays with their friends, Thanksmas was born.
Typically celebrated the first weekend in December, Thanksmas is a gathering of those who you consider your “chosen family”. A traditional turkey dinner is served (with the occasional roasted duck or suckling pig), complete with mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade rolls….THE WORKS.
And cocktails, naturally.
After Will and Sara made their way back home to Minnesota, they brought Thanksmas with them. And the holidays haven’t been complete without since 2010.
Now, we’ve come a long way since our first few Thanksmases, and I’ll spare my dear friends the embarrassment of rehashing any of the debauchery that ensued during our first few festive celebrations.
“Festive” is an understatement.
So, this year, being responsible adults, I wanted to make a fun punch for all to enjoy.
And did we ever.
This punch is the perfect apertif. It gets its bitterness from Aperol and grapefruit, and effervescence from a little grapefruit soda. Grapefruit and rosemary spike an easy simple syrup, which could be used to make a killer vodka soda, as well. (Double the batch, I promise you’ll use it).
While this punch is the perfect Thanksmas toaster, it clearly would make a delicious addition to any holiday (or non-holiday!) gathering.
Just be prepared though: while I mentioned that this was made for “responsible adults”, it still packs a punch. As most cocktails should be.
Cheers to the holidays, to Thanksmas, and to family & friends!
Merry Punch
Ingredients
For the Christmas Punch:
- 3 cups London dry gin
- 3 cups Aperol
- 2 cups freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- 1 1/2 cups Rosemary grapefruit simple syrup (recipe below)
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2-3 cups Grapefruit soda or seltzer
For the Rosemary Grapefruit Simple Syrup:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 medium grapefruit, peel removed carefully
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
Instructions
For the Rosemary Grapefruit Simple Syrup:
- In a medium saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to simmer, allowing sugar to dissolve. Remove from heat.
- Carefully remove the peel from the grapefruit. Be sure that as much of the pith (the white part) is removed. Add peel and rosemary sprigs to simple syrup, allowing to steep at least 30 minutes.
- Remove grapefruit peel and rosemary sprigs from simple syrup, and store simple syrup in a glass jar in the refrigerator until ready to use. Simple syrup will keep for up to one week.
For the Christmas Punch:
- In a large beverage dispenser, combine gin, Aperol, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. If possible, ensure all ingredients are properly chilled before combining. Add ice to dispenser, if intending to serve throughout a party and you want it to remain chilled.
- You may add the grapefruit soda or seltzer to the dispenser if you like, or else top off each drink with about 1 ounce as you serve.