Champagne Punch

By Steve Kilcullen Jump to Recipe

Celebrate the good times anytime with the strong, bubbly and fruity Champagne Punch.

You’ve been staring at the giant cabinet you inherited a few years ago from your great-great-great aunt that you’ve never met. Why? You decided to throw your first party at your cavernous and very empty home, finally having that large number of friends you’ve amassed come over, being the inadvertent social butterfly that you are. Now you need to serve a large amount of booze, and you don’t feel like playing bartender. So you stare at your great-great-great aunt’s ancient cabinet, hoping for an answer from beyond…

You open one of its squeaky and creaky doors to reveal a colossal and ornate punchbowl set, made of heavy crystal and carved with all kinds of sharp, geometric shapes. Turning your eyes upward and silently thanking your long-gone relative, you pull the giant bowl out with a heft, followed by untold amounts of matching little glass mugs.

After a wash and rinse in the driveway—this set is fairly ginormous—you begin to place everything in the front room of the house atop your rarely-used foosball table. Now all you need is something to put in that punch bowl so that all of your friends can help themselves. Something that, if it runs out, you can easily and quickly remake and refill. Something fruity, fizzy and refreshing. And boozy, can’t forget that. You look online, jumping on your go-to cocktail site—the one with all the interesting stories—and find the recipe for Champagne Punch. Because you’re prepared for everything, you breathe a sigh of relief as you discover you have a few bottles of bubbly, along with a clean and clear vodka, plus a full-bodied—and unopened—Grand Marnier.

Now all you need to know about your own party is what time it starts and what you will wear. Good thing you made that Champagne Punch already to help you think.

What is the best alcohol to use to make Champagne Punch?

Vodka, Grand Marnier and a sparkling wine will be at the top of our shopping list as we start to prep our Champagne Punch. For the vodka, we won’t have to get super fancy, as we’ll be mixing a fair amount of it with the other spirits, as well as the pomegranate juice and ginger ale or club soda. Something like a flavorless Belvedere, Ketel One or Absolut will work nicely. As mentioned before, the orange liqueur blended with cognac, Grand Marnier, adds some fruity complexity along with an extra boozy bite. All of this will swirl and swim together in a balanced way with a bottle of dry brut prosecco, champagne or sparkling wine to top everything off, like Mionetto, La Marca, or Moët & Chandon.

What glassware and garnish are used?

Pull out your great-great-great aunt’s punch bowl set and fill up the big round thingy with your Champagne Punch, then serve the potent mixture to your pals in the little handled thingies that came with the larger one. And make sure there’s plenty of fruit in each one too, as they’ll be soaked in alcohol. As will your guests.

Is it better to use ginger ale or club soda?

This is entirely up to you. Club soda will cut back on the calories while bringing a lovely fizz to the proceedings, and ginger ale will add some extra spiced flavor along with the bubbles.

Similar drinks to the Champagne Punch

It can be for a holiday, or a birthday, or just a general gathering of friends and loved ones for no other reason than you want to see everybody. And no matter what the occasion is, a punch is always a good option for easily handing out some spirited concoctions to your guests. Below are a handful of tasty suggestions, courtesy of Twist & Toast, suitable for any party at any time.

• Halloween Punch – A spooky and seasonal mixture, dripping with flavor and atmosphere.
• Party Punch – Here’s a punch that can be boozy or alcohol-free, and is still delicious either way.
• Hunch Punch – After a few sips of this potent punch, you’ll see why it’s a campus favorite.
• Jingle Juice Holiday Punch – Spread some joyful cheer with this spiced and strong punch.