Recently in Ingredients Category

Our misadventure at Bemelman's the other night got us thinking about punches- no, not those awful concoctions we tried to slip booze into during high school dances - but the predecessor to the modern day cocktail. Death & Company features four punches on its menu and last year Clover Club got a lot of play when it opened with a menu featuring punch. But somehow it remains a group or party option.

Yesterday, an intriguing punch recipe popped into our inbox courtesy of snazzy downtown wineshop Pasanella & Son (115 South Street). Using Batavia Arrack, a Javanese spirit made from sugar cane and fermented red rice, the Nuremburg Punch has the added benefit of being warm, thus perfect for a mid-winter party.




The Nuremburg Punch

1 pound sugar
2 or 3 large oranges
1 qt boiling water
1/3 qt Batavia Arrack
1 bottle inexpensive red wine

Pare off a thin orange peel. Juice oranges. Add OJ to sugar with peel. Pour boiling water and Arrack over the mix. Add hot (but not boiling) wine. Stir. Serve.

You've seen the vougue cocktail ingredient "Velvet Falernum" around town, but just what exactly is it?

Falernum is a mix of several spices (generally ginger, almond, clove) and lime, sometimes alcoholic and sometimes not. You'll find it in Tiki drinks, classic Caribbean drinks like the Mai Tai and Zombie and, of course, in cool cocktails around NYC.

The poplular brand is John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum from Barbados, which is an infusion of spices, sugar cane syrup and rum. You can try it in the unfortunately named Lovee Long Time at the new hotspot Macao Trading Co. (311 Church Street, Tribeca)