Christmas Punch Concoctions with Hendricks Gin

In our recent Poll to find out your Favourite Brand of Gin you voted Hendrick’s Gin Number One, so we thought we would team up with the popular Scottish-produced Gin to present a couple of wonderful festive punch concoctions – perfect for any Christmas celebration.

In this time of festive cheer, Hendrick’s Gin, proprietor of the exquisite and unusual, has partnered with the most esteemed of cocktail creators to offer a solution to Christmas entertaining quandaries, and in doing so bring to your attention the almost forgotten mastery of punch.

Dismissed by most, punch often reminds people of their first fumbles into the world of alcohol, and terrible concoctions of almost poisonous presence. But this most certainly does not have to be the case, for in times past, punch was the quintessential drink for many, as expounded in hazy Victorian descriptions of bowls of punch that “awaken in the soul all the finer emotions of sensibility and friendship.”

Over the Christmas period, why not partake in the ritual of punch, providing a shared experience of drinking that few other drinks can claim. There really is no better way to share the chronicles of life and subsequent laughter than around a bowl of enchanting punch!

 

Hendrick’s Purl,

Created by Tristan Stephenson of Purl, London

 

Ingredients:

150ml Hendrick’s Gin

1 litre of good quality hoppy ale
200ml cloudy apple juice
5 slices of satsuma
1 cinnamon stick
90g sugar
5g hops
2 cloves
1 dessert spoon honey
2 large splashes of Angostura Bitters
1 whole star anise

Glass: Teacup

Garnish: Satsuma slices and cinnamon stick

Method:

Heat ingredients in a pan. Simmer for 20 minutes then strain the hops out and serve with satsuma slices and a stick of cinnamon to garnish.

 

Hot Gin Punch,

Created by Hendrick’s British Ambassador Duncan McRae, a subtly tweaked recipe inspired by Dickens’ very own recipe from David Copperfield

Ingredients:

Three full teacups of Hendrick’s Gin
Another three of Madeira wine
Three cloves
Pinch grated nutmeg
Large teaspoon of cinnamon powder
Two teaspoons brown sugar
Six large lemon and orange twists
Small slice orange
One fresh pineapple
Four large spoons honey
Juice of two lemons

 

Method:

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and place on the heat. Let the concoction simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Taste, adding lemon or honey depending on whether you prefer sweet or sour.When it’s ready, pour into a teapot and serve in teacups or alternatively in a traditional punch bowl.This punch can be reheated should you wish to prepare it prior to a gathering. This punch is best simmered for half an hour or more– allowing the pineapple time to soften and caramalise. Pineapples (one of the most exotic ingredients one could get hold of) would have been a real treatduring the Victorian Era, making this punch a genuine celebration.