Citrus, floral, woodsy
Serve with southern snacks, like pimento cheese sandwiches and fried chicken. This easy, make-ahead punch fits well into a festive summer picnic. It’s also an exciting little pick-me-up to serve on a camping trip.
Like a true punch, the recipe calls for a combination of sweet and sour ingredients, along with black tea. Many versions of this southern classic call for juice concentrates, but use fresh fruit. A proper punch starts with muddling citrus peels in sugar and letting them sit for about an hour to draw out the oils in the skin, creating what’s called oleo saccharum (for more details, see page 261). While this step will lift your sweet tea flavor into the heavens, it can be left out—just omit the extra peel.
SERVES 6 TO 8
1 cup (240 ml) bourbon (Buffalo Trace)
Peel of half a lemon
½ cup (100 g) Demerara sugar
3 black tea bags
3 cups (710 ml) boiling water
1 lemon, sliced into wedges
1 lime, sliced into wedges
1 orange, sliced into wedges
Mint sprigs, for garnish
Muddle lemon peel in the sugar in a bowl and let sit for 1 hour on the counter. In a large pitcher, steep tea bags in 3 cups of boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags, let cool briefly, and stir in the sugar mixture. Remove peel. Once the mixture cools to room temperature, add the bourbon and the citrus wedges. Chill and serve over ice with mint to garnish.