This is a post about what we drank at my recent outdoor party, where 13 of my lady friends and I got together on a lovely summer’s evening for no reason except to relax and enjoy each others’ company.
After looking at a couple of vintage cookbooks for party drink ideas, I decided that I’d make some punch. I wondered about spiking the whole batch, but instead chose to make the punch without alcohol and then add it later to make individual cocktails. This definitely turned out to be the way to go, because it was so handy to have a lot of a good tasting beverage that everyone could enjoy.
But before heading down the punch route, I had to first find something to serve it from. Of course, a punch-bowl was the obvious choice but in spite of seeing many of them at thrift stores in the past, I didn’t have one. Also I had seen those large glass containers with a stand and a spout made especially for large parties, but I just couldn’t justify having one of those or a punch bowl, as this certainly wasn’t a kitchen item I would be using often and I just don’t have the space to store one.
So I improvised with a glass salad bowl and a soup ladle. I did go a bit fancy with the ladle borrowing a cute one with a curved handle from my parents. But I’ll be giving that one back so will now be on the lookout for a nice ladle at the thrift stores, because I will surely be making punch again.
↑↑ A salad bowl and soup ladle become a Punch Bowl ↑↑
I wanted a tropical tasting punch for this summer party. It turned out well and everyone seemed to enjoy it. An empty bowl at the end of the evening indicated I had a winner, so I’ll add the recipe at the end.
And to make the punch bowl look extra pretty I made some big fancy ice-cubes to float in it using some silicone cupcake cups. I made three kinds : Blueberry, Mint and lime. These were a big hit with the ladies. Not only did they look neat as they melted, but they left their bits of goodness in the punch. To quote one friend, ‘I just ate a leaf and it tasted good.’
There was also rum and the liqueur ‘Alize Gold Passion’ to turn the punch into a Tropical Tea Cocktail.
In addition to the punch, we had red and white wine, beer (Steam Whistle, which is brewed in downtown Toronto), and Pear Cider (charmingly called ‘Sir Perry’). Additionally there was a pitcher of ice water flavoured with thinly sliced lemons, and Low Sodium Soda Water.
My drink of choice for the evening was a White Wine Spritzer. (2/3 measure dry white wine to 1/3 soda water, lots of ice and a squeeze of lemon). These are a favourite summertime drink of mine. (Although of course, I tried a Punch Cocktail too to see how they turned out.)
So that’s what we drank at my Ladies’ party. Tomorrow I’ll show you what we ate, and then the party’s over folks. Until next time.
Thanks for checking out my post,
xo loulou
Tropical Tea Party Punch
Ingredients
- 4 cups of tea made with 3 bags – 2 black tea and 1 berry tea (I went with blackberry and acai)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon (freshly squeezed) lemon juice
- 1 can frozen 5 Alive juice concentrate in the Tropical Citrus flavour or frozen pineapple juice concentrate
- 2 cups low sodium soda water
- a whole tray of ice-cubes, plus more ice to keep it cold
- Optional: Rum and Alize Gold Passion (A cognac based liqueur)
Instructions
Make your tea, leaving the teabags in it for 15 minutes (You want it pretty strong). Then allow it to cool to room temperature.
Just before serving, add tea to punch bowl and stir in sugar to dissolve. Add lemon, can of frozen concentrate and 2 cans of water (rather than the 3 called for, as you’ll be further diluting it with ice). Stir until concentrate is thawed. Add soda water and tray of ice-cubes.
To serve either add more ice to the bowl, or to each serving.
To make a delicious Tropical Tea Cocktail add 1 oz rum and 1 oz Alize to a glass of punch (or to you desired strength.)
Description
Rum party cocktail
