Serves a Crowd
by: hardlikearmour
November8,2011
4.3
3 Ratings
- Makes 12 5-oz servings
Jump to Recipe
Author Notes
This punch combines fall and winter fruit flavors with Prosecco and just a little elderflower liqueur. It is sweet-tart with a bit of complexity provided by the spices and elderflower. It would be perfect for a holiday gathering or to ring in the new year. Cheers! —hardlikearmour
Test Kitchen Notes
This tasty effervescent punch is a perfect aperitif for the holiday season. With sparkling pear juice and prosecco, there's double the bubbles and this beautifully crimson punch hits all the right notes. Subtle hints of ginger and cardamom mellow out the tart pomegranate juice, and when mixed with the elderflower liqueur, you get a nice balance of sweet and tart flavors. Try hardlikearmour's suggestion of freezing sparkling pear juice with pomegranate arils for fancy ice cubes to float in the punch. —jvcooks
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 2 cups 100% pomegranate juice
- 2 to 3 inch knob of ginger, thinly sliced
- 20 green cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 bottle extra-dry Prosecco (750 ml)
- 1 bottle sparkling pear juice (750 ml)
- ½ to ¾ cup St. Germain elderflower liqueur
Directions
- Combine the pomegranate juice, ginger, and cardamom in a medium sauce pan.Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a robust simmer. Cook until reduced to approximately 1 cup, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to cool to room temperature. Pass reduced juice through a fine mesh strainer into a storage vessel. Chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours before making punch. Can be made up to 3 days ahead.
- Just before serving combine reduced pomegranate juice, Prosecco, pear juice, and ½ cup elderflower liqueur in a large pitcher or punch bowl. Taste and add more elderflower liqueur if desired.
- For a fancy party presentation, place a sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne flute, and add the punch. The sugar cube will create a continuous stream of tiny bubbles. It will disintegrate, but doesn't dissolve much into the punch so won't change the flavor dramatically. (See photo 1)
- For fancy ice cubes freeze sparkling pear juice with pomegranate arils and/or thin slices of Seckel pear. (See photo 2)
- For a non-alcoholic variation replace the Prosecco with seltzer. Replace the St. Germain with ¼ cup elderflower syrup.
Tags:
- co*cktail
- Punch
- Fruit
- Cardamom
- Liqueur
- Pear
- Pomegranate Juice
- Serves a Crowd
- Fall
- Winter
- Christmas
- Thanksgiving
Contest Entries
- Your Best Punch
- Your Best Pomegranates
See what other Food52ers are saying.
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Sara Gillis
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Nick Clunn
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EmilyC
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wssmom
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QueenSashy
I am an amateur baker and cake decorator. I enjoy cooking, as well as eating and feeding others. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with my husband and our menagerie. I enjoy outdoor activities including hiking, mushroom hunting, tide pooling, beach combing, and snowboarding.
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37 Reviews
Sara G. September 13, 2014
Any suggestions on what liqueur to use of St. Germain is just too expensive in your city? I read that Lychee liqueur or even Grand Marnier can sometimes be substituted for Elderflower.
Nick C. December 22, 2012
I served this as an apertif for a small dinner party before Christmas and it was a hit. I found the sparking pear juice at a well-stocked liquor store and used a half-cup of St. Germain. Those who are unfamiliar with this liquor should add gradually to suit thier taste. Any leftover punch can be stored in the refrigerator and revived with a splash of sparking water.
hardlikearmour January 5, 2013
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the "revival" tip, too.
EmilyC December 4, 2012
Just looking at the pics of this drink makes my mouth water. I'm going to ask Santa for a bottle of St. Germain.
hardlikearmour December 4, 2012
You should definitely get some St. Germain! I love it.
wssmom December 2, 2012
So glad you entered this!! Wonderful flavors ...
hardlikearmour December 2, 2012
:-)
jenniebgood November 28, 2012
Yes please! This looks like such an amazing mix of ingredients -I'm definitely putting it on the list for my next gathering.
hardlikearmour November 28, 2012
Thanks, jbg! Let me know how it goes!
QueenSashy October 23, 2012
I cannot wait to try this!
hardlikearmour October 23, 2012
Thank you, QS! Hope you like it!
lime L. December 25, 2011
I concur in that this was wonderful and will become one of my favorites as well. Being Ms. T's mother has it's benefits - she made this for us when home for the holidays. We found the leftover was great with sparkling water. Really nice blend of flavors ! Trying to save this to my recipe box but having trouble since the new web design...
hardlikearmour December 26, 2011
Thank you, lime lassi! I'm thrilled your family enjoys it.
Ms. T. December 22, 2011
I made this again last night for my family's Hanukkah/solstice/early Christmas celebration, and it was even better than the first time! The Pom wonderful brand made a big difference in color and flavor. I still couldn't find sparkling pear juice in the store--I've now looked in three upscale grocery stores in two states. Where do you find it? Lovely recipe that will be one of my holiday standards for years to come :)
hardlikearmour December 22, 2011
I find it at New Seasons, a Portland area grocery chain. It's made by RW Knudsen. http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/celebratory/sparkling-organic-pear/
Ms. T. December 22, 2011
Thanks! Maybe I'll order some online for next year.
Ms. T. December 1, 2011
This sounds delicious! I think I might try it this weekend. Do you think black cardamom pods would work? I have some that I don't know what to do with.
hardlikearmour December 1, 2011
I think black cardamom would work - it tastes like a slightly smoky version of green cardamom. The cardamom flavor is pretty subtle in the punch, but it adds some depth. Let me know if you try it!
Ms. T. December 5, 2011
I wasn't sure about adding the smoky flavor, so I stuck to green cardamom and it was great! I loved the complexity of the floral and spice. I couldn't find sparkling pear juice, so I used pear juice and sparkling water, which seemed to work just fine. My only disappointment was that I didn't get the pretty pink color of the photos--our co*cktails were brown. It was probably due to my choice of pear juice and pom juice. Have you ever noticed that some pomegranate juice is red, and some is much more brown? I could only find the brownish variety. In any case, after the first sip, nobody minded because it tasted so lovely :)
hardlikearmour December 5, 2011
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I've used the POM wonderful juice and another one (forgot the brand) once, but both were a nice red color. The editor's photo doesn't look as pink as when I've made it.
Ms. T. December 5, 2011
Yes, I looked for POM wonderful, but they only had mixtures at the store: pom-blueberry, pom-mango, etc...So I had to use the non-refrigerated kind, which is browner. Oh well, I'll go for pink next time, cuz the flavors were definitely worth repeating. Cheers!
Droplet November 17, 2011
HLA, I don't drink co*cktails so I didn't even pay attention to this contest, but your choice of ingredients for this certainly is recognition worthy.
hardlikearmour November 18, 2011
Thank you, droplet! The NA version is quite good, so I hope you give it a try.
love2cook November 14, 2011
I'm allergic to pears--could I use sparkling apple cider instead?
hardlikearmour November 14, 2011
We tried it with sparkling apple cider, and it's not as good. The apple is too sweet for some reason. Maybe a 50:50 mix of sparkling apple cider and seltzer or a flavored sparkling water would would be better?
lapadia November 10, 2011
Tart, a little sweet, my favorite color and favorite flavors, delicious, indeed! Cheers back!
hardlikearmour November 10, 2011
Thanks, lapadia! It's my husband's favorite color, too.
gingerroot November 9, 2011
This sounds delicious and sneaky. The best kind of punch! I love the cardamom and ginger infused pomegranate.
hardlikearmour November 9, 2011
Thanks, gingerroot! It's pretty easy to drink more than a serving. The spiced pomegranate is good with plain seltzer water for a tart "soda".
wssmom November 9, 2011
You have brought together so many of my favorite flavors in this!
hardlikearmour November 9, 2011
Thanks, wssmom! It is a nice combo.
JWC November 9, 2011
This sounds delicious - I love the color, too!
hardlikearmour November 9, 2011
Thanks, JWC! It is a pretty color.
mrslarkin November 8, 2011
Sounds very festive and delicious! I love the name, too!
hardlikearmour November 8, 2011
Thanks, mrslarkin! My sister came up with the name.
Bevi November 8, 2011
Yum - I have all the ingredients. Will definitely make this!
hardlikearmour November 8, 2011
Thanks, Bevi! My sister and I tried multiple iterations of it over the week end, and this was our favorite.
