This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Punch is to festive winter gatherings what sangria is to aperitifs on the terrace in summer: a light cocktail, to share, that is prepared in large quantities and for which you do not necessarily need a recipe. However, it has not always been this way: from a sailor’s drink to our holiday table, this is the history of punch.
“A punch was made to punch,” sums up Rose Simard perfectly well, founder of the website 1 ou 2 cocktails and author of the books The aperitif in Quebec And Drink Quebec. The modern punch has become more of a welcome cocktail, a little something pleasant that is easily served as an aperitif during the holidays. »
She also admits that, on her platforms, punch recipes are undoubtedly the most popular in December, highlighting the extent to which the social context surrounding the consumption of punch has changed enormously since its creation.
A cocktail that travels
There are several hypotheses as to the etymology of the word punch. The most popular is that it is derived from the Hindi word “panch”, which means five due to the number of ingredients that the punch contained at the time of its creation (lemon juice, sugar, strong alcohol, water and spices). Others believe that the word comes from “punpeon”, the name of a small barrel of rum in which punch was prepared.
In any case, it would be British navigators who popularized the said cocktail, having discovered it during their travels to India in the 16th century.e century. They would have brought back local ingredients to prepare on their boat on the way home.
Once on dry land, the sailors shared a glass of this sweet concoction, formerly served hot, with the people who came to welcome them to port. The recipe thus spread and quickly became a favorite of aristocrats. The latter liked to serve large quantities during their social evenings, proving their financial ease allowing them to buy exotic fruits and spices for its preparation.
The famous bowl
Since its creation, punch has been prepared, served and consumed in a large bowl. Before the ladle arrived, the guests passed it around and drank directly from it.
These bowls, now collector’s items, were of high quality and beautiful elegance, made of ceramic, porcelain, crystal and sometimes even silver. At one time, the size of punch bowls was a symbol of a family’s fortune. They were then passed down from generation to generation… before gathering dust in the back of cupboards when individual cocktails gained popularity in the Victorian era.
Rose Simard can attest to this, she who owns her grandmother’s very precious punch bowl: “It’s big, it takes up space, but I’m never going to get rid of it. »
Because ultimately, using a punch bowl only serves to create a wow factor and make serving easier. “We could serve our cocktail in a pitcher and that would also do the trick,” says the creator of 1 or 2 cocktails.
“Locavorize” your punch
Punch has come back into fashion periodically since its creation and, since then, its recipes have been numerous: you can use practically anything you have on hand!
A fan of Quebec products, Rose Simard believes that it is absolutely possible to “localize” this cocktail to share.
“I try to stick to five ingredients, if you want to taste everything without masking the subtleties of the ingredients. » This is even more true if you use a good bottle of Quebec gin as a base for your punch, adding local fruit liqueurs and boreal spices, for example.
The crux of the matter, according to her, is really acidity. “Rather than using lemon or lime, you can use pure cranberry juice or sea buckthorn juice,” notes the cocktail expert.
“Making a punch is a bit like making spaghetti sauce: we start with a basic recipe, then we rework it according to our tastes”… and our favorite local ingredients!
The ideal proportions of a punch according to Rose Simard
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.