Punch seems the ideal Christmas party drink for Australia; so refreshing and festive, plus the perfect way to make use of summer fruits.
My partner Rob and I inherited a heavy crystal punch bowl from Rob’s grandmother. She lived in Adelaide, and used it at 1930s tennis parties, and for entertaining servicemen during WWII. Until now I had never used it. Well, we are not party givers…. unlike Nana Atkins, or more particularly; Admiral Edward Russell!
Back in 1694 the British Admiral was stationed in Spain and he decided to throw a huge Christmas party. The centrepiece was a Delft-tiled fountain filled with punch. It contained two hundred and ten gallons of brandy, one hundred and five gallons of Malaga wine, eight hogsheads of water, the juice of 25,000 lemons, and twenty gallons of lime juice. This was all mixed with sugar, grated nutmeg and hundreds of toasted biscuits. A small boy was employed to row around the fountain in a decorative boat, filling the cups of six thousand guests.
Admiral Russell (Wikipedia)
Time to make my own, vastly smaller scale brew. I used red wine, cold tea, simple syrup and a citrus soft drink. This was all I had on hand, but it did pack quite a punch. I might leave some out for Santa.
The quantities were a bit ‘random’, so please don’t ask me for the recipe.
Crystal is considered rather old-fashioned these days, but the lidded bowl would look striking in the right setting.
All done, albeit only a half full bowl.
The punch was finished with preserved orange slices and blueberries.
Here is the finished drink, decorated with my attempt at sugar ‘snow’ on the rim of the glass.
You can also heat the punch with spices such as cloves and cinnamon, and serve it as mulled wine.
Pretend you live in the northern hemisphere and enjoy the punch as hot mulled wine.
Since I didn’t hold a party I bottled the rest. If you visit me over Christmas/New Year you will almost certainly be served a glass. 😊
A VERY BERRY CHRISTMAS
For someone who grew up in Tasmania there is nothing more festive than fresh raspberries.
‘Berry’ Christmas!
Here is a link to more punch recipes from the Australian Women’s Weekly.
MERRY CHRISTMAS 2025 EVERYONE. 🎄
