THERE WAS A TIME, not so long ago, when a shared bowl of drinks was practically illegal.
Like so much missing from the past two years, this is a part of life we're here to reclaim. There is a promise in punch and a conviviality; it's a throwback to the fellow-ship of a bygone era. Starting with a distinctive punch sets the tone of your gathering and exercising care in its creation is practically a love language. A good punch has to be a lot of things: cold but not watered down with ice; interesting but not too esoteric; flavorful but not too intense. It may seem easy, but there's an art to getting it right.
Start with the right ingredients and some clever techniques (freeze a giant
