Nightlife

[The Booze Issue]

The charming, social, easy-drinking ritual of punch

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On a recent sleepy Tuesday, Franklin’s punch of the day was a summery dream of aged rum, coconut liqueur, passion fruit, pomegranate, pineapple and the essence of mint.
Photo: Bill Hughes

There are fishbowls and there are punch bowls. One involves a dozen straws and a drink the color of wiper fluid; the other is a lovely, centuries-old ritual that brings good cocktail ingredients and good friends together.

From Velveteen Rabbit to Andrea’s at Encore, punch is having a bit of a revival moment in Las Vegas, but Michael Cornthwaite recalls putting it on the menu at Downtown Cocktail Room more than five years ago “as a tongue-in-cheek jab at the bottle-service trend. Punch is fun, festive, communal and generally inexpensive, and we thought that people would enjoy finding something unexpected in the bar. Just like other good ideas, it caught on.”

So what is it? At its most basic, five elements: citrus, sugar, spirit, something to balance it (typically juice or milder liquors or water) and whatever spices and/or herbs suit. But just as the martini has become more about the vessel than its contents: “Punch has become a general name for anything in a punch bowl,” says DCR Bar Manager Kevin Gorham. The origin is fuzzy, but he says most believe punch came from India and spread to England via ships in the 17th century. Sailors stretched the rum supply by diluting it with water and amplifying the flavor with things like brown sugar, lime and mint. We keep the tradition of the communal cocktail alive because it tastes damn good, and hits at the basic appeal of drinking at a bar—the feel of an occasion.

Gorham calls DCR’s Pilgrim Punch ($58 for 4-6 people, $112 for 8-12) a modern classic, blending dark and white rum, orange and lime juices, simple syrup and allspice. “Whenever I taste it I think pumpkin pie in the beginning, and then it ends up being clean and refreshing.” The Dram O’ Noggin ($60; $114) is a richer sip, with cognac, bourbon, oloroso sherry, house-made egg nog and the heady spice bouquet of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. If the weather doesn’t express the season, these concoctions have it nailed.

"A delicious fall punch bowl served in the right environment on a brisk evening makes people feel good," Cornthwaite says.

Under the firefly lights at the Delano’s stylish lobby bar, Franklin, the punch on a sleepy Tuesday conjures summer memories. It looks like sunset and tastes like it, too, with 12-year-old Zaya rum and Kalani coconut liqueur brightened by passion fruit purée, pomegranate and pineapple juices and the essence of mint slapped over the surface. Bartender Jose Cabulong dubbed it Stranded on Delano Island—in a good way. “We have the freedom to make what we want, throw things in and see where it takes you,” Cabulong says. “I drink this and think about my brother’s wedding in Maui.”

Depending on the day, Franklin’s punch might be made with tequila or hard-to-find vodka like Hangar One Mandarin Blossom, or one of 280 dark spirits in the bar's arsenal. "It’s whatever the bartender is feeling for the day. Delano is about story,” says Franklin Lounge Manager Micki Kerchal, adding that punch fits the property’s winks at FDR’s era and its mission to create “whimsical moments” (i.e. daiquiris and truffle popcorn doled out at particular hours). "The base spirit can be any type of alcohol. We can even make our specialty cocktails or classic cocktails into a punch."

While you can order one serving in a coupe ($12), the Punch Bowl for Four Discerning Guests ($40) is two rounds’ worth of fun. Kerchal says guests can be intimidated by the scale of the sparkling bowl, but punch is not meant for swilling. As Cabulong says, it’s “a gather-’round, huddle-up, social kind of thing.”

Downtown Cocktail Room 111 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-880-3696. Monday-Friday, 4 p.m.-2 a.m.; Saturday, 7 p.m.-2 a.m.

Franklin Delano, 3940 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-632-9444. Daily, 10 a.m.-2 a.m.

Tags: Booze, Featured
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