I’ve shared this recipe before, but I recently made it for two events, my Lilly Pulitzer Girls Night and Jay’s First Communion celebration, and thought it was worth putting out there again!! This champagne punch is full of juices, fresh fruit and mint, and is absolutely perfect for spring.
Champagne Punch
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup white grape juice
1 1/2 cups fresh grapefruit juice (preferably pink or ruby red – Dona’s came from their other neighbor’s garden!)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup Cognac or other brandy
1/2 cup packed mint leaves
1 navel orange, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 lime, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 lemon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 (750-ml) bottle Champagne or other sparkling white wine, chilled
PREPARATION
Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then transfer to a bowl and cool syrup completely (or quick-chill by setting bowl in an ice bath and stirring occasionally until cool).
Stir together juices, wine, Cognac, mint, fruit, and cooled syrup in a large pitcher. Chill, covered, until cold, about 1 hour. Stir in Champagne.
Cooks’ notes:
Syrup can be chilled up to 1 week. ·Punch, without Champagne, can be made 3 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Add Champagne just before serving.
Since I had two celebrations within a few weeks of each other and a lot of juice, I made up THREE recipes and froze two in gallon sized zip top bags. To do this, I combined everything from the sugar to the brandy. I thawed on the day of the event and added the fruit and champagne just before serving.
Honey gave me the drink dispensers for Christmas. They were a total surprise, are a great size and have already been put to good use a few times. I love that he went out shopping, saw these and thought of me. They are pretty spot on. <3
DIXIE DELIGHTS DELIVERED
[madmimi id=246857]
