Patio Punch

Drink Recipe.

Well I am certainly not going to complain about the unseasonably warm weather that we're having here in The Windy City. In fact I want to take advantage of it and continue to drink light and refreshing libations as long as I can. And for parties, I love to do big batches of a signature drink so that everyone can just pour off their own glass and I'm not stuck manning a cocktail shaker all night.

When I think about the first parties that my husband and I used to throw right out of college, it almost always involved "Trash Can Punch" served in a gigantic mason jar with a terrible plastic ladle. We convinced a local bar to give us their recipe and we used it over and over and over. Unfortunately, the thought of serving that same recipe a decade later makes me a bit nauseous. As a 21 year old, the fact that it contained 3 entire bottles of rum (one being 151) didn't phase me at all. Now...that would keep me in bed for at least 48 hours after consumption.

When I saw this recipe for Patio Punch in InStyle Magazine, I knew that I had a worthy and much more palatable substitute for our former elixer of death. I cannot wait to give this puppy a try at another al fresco evening with our friends.


Picture courtesy of Lumberg the Loquacious Llama.

Patio Punch
Serves 6 (2 glasses each)

1 1/2 cups light rum
1/2 cup Navan vanilla cognac
3 oz. amaretto
1 cup strawberry syrup (recipe below)
1 1/4 cups fresh lemon jice
1/2 lb fresh strawberries, sliced
lemon wheels and rosemary sprigs
1 bottle chilled prosecco

In a punch bowl or beverage dispenser, combine all ingredients except prosecco. Pour into ice-filled glasses, top off with prosecco.

Strawberry Syrup
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup strawberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
fresh lime juice

Bring water to a boil, add strawberries and sugar, lower to medium heat and stir occasionally for 5 minutes. Strain and add a touch of lime juice to make the flavors pop.