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Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/685968
www.cheersonline.com 23 June 2016 • Punch is a win-win, both for amenable groups of friends who can agree on their cocktail order and for restaurants and bars that can batch it ahead of time for easy service. Bowls are always in style, but now they are joined by a host of other vessels including carafes and pitchers for crowd-pleasing drinks that lend convivial fl air. "People like to share things," says Stefan Trummer, co- owner/mixologist at Trummer's on Main in Clifton, VA. "It always is more fun when you just put a big platter of food or a big cocktail bowl in the middle of the table for everyone… [plus] you don't have to wait for refi lls." The 210-seat New American cuisine restaurant has a selection of three rotating punches that change with the seasons. Current offerings include Strawberry Field, which combines vodka with strawberry, fennel and burnt absinthe; Peach Cobbler, with bourbon, grilled peaches, lemon, vanilla and peach bitters; and a Scorpion bowl with tequila, passion fruit, star anise and lemongrass. The punch drinks appear on the Community Cocktails section of Trummer's on Main's menu. Guests can order a small punch, 10 to 15 servings, priced from $85 to $125, or large, with 20 to 30 servings ($135 to $195). "I personally love making batched cocktails, and believe that they can be better than individually made drinks," says Trummer. "Like how some dishes taste better if you make a large batch than only a couple of portions." Trummer says that using fresh fruits and herbs allows for intense fl avors and a balanced mouthfeel to develop as the ingredients steep in the bowl. The aptly named Punch House in Chicago offers about 12 types of both classic and contemporary punches. The 86-seat, vintage-themed bar includes the large-format drinks in its beverage program for fl avor as well as effi ciency. "We knew that a beverage identity that calls for batching by design would allow us to provide great drinks with an uncommon speed of service for the craft cocktail world," explains founder William Duncan. Punches are priced at $8 per glass, $32 a carafe (four servings) and $59 a bowl (eight servings). Duncan cites Space Juice as the most popular from the contemporary side of the menu. It mixes tequila with grapefruit, Luxardo Bitter, black pepper and sage, topped with sparkling wine. "The appeal and popularity ties to the surprisingly perfect pairing of grapefruit and Punch Bowl Social, which just opened its sixth location, offers large-format libations such as You Must Bring Us…A Shrubbery, made with Skyy moscato vodka, watermelon shrub, lemon juice, cardamom syrup and a red wine fl oat. / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /