Christmas Punch

In days of yore, people spent winter hours seated near the fire debating whose holiday punch reached the top rung of the long ladder of festive beverages. This is how the great Hatfield/McCoy holiday feud of 1857 began, which lasted for many, many Decembers--sad Decembers, I have to mention, as the feud meant no one was getting to ladle a friendly cup from the neighbor’s punch bowl. Perhaps this contributed to the lack of neighborly punch sharing we have today. Well, I say "bah, humbug" on the ending of this merry ritual and demand that my neighbors whip up their grandparents’' (or great-great-grandparents') holiday punch, to re-instill the idea that at any time one should be able to stop in, say "Season's greetings," and be drinking punch within minutes. I’ll be serving the below recipe, of which the orange wards off colds, the brandy warms the stomach and soul, and the Champagne matches the season's joyful nature.--A.J. Rathbun, from Good Spirits

Serves 10

Shop for double old-fashioned glasses and more barware for your celebration.

Ice (in block form if possible; if not, large chunks)
4 ounces Cointreau
4 ounces brandy
2 oranges, cut into wedges
Two 750-milliliter bottles chilled Champagne

1. Add the ice to a large punch bowl. If using chunks, fill the bowl just under halfway.

2. Add the Cointreau and brandy. Using a trusted ladle or long spoon, stir briefly.

3. Add the orange wedges, and then pour in the Champagne. Stir 12 times, and let sit for a minute, so that the ingredients can get acquainted in the manner of the times.

A Variation: If wanting to up the holiday stakes even more, add 1 cup frozen cranberries to the above recipe.

Excerpted from Good Spirits, by A.J. Rathbun, © 2007, and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press.

ABOUT A.J. RATHBUN

A seasoned party host and master mixologist, A.J. Rathbun is the author of Good Spirits (winner of an IACP Cookbook Award), as well as Luscious Liqueurs, Party Drinks!, Party Snacks! (all from Harvard Common Press), and a collection of poetry, Want. He has worked as a bartender, a waiter, a rock-band roadie, the director of the Poetry After Hours Program at the Seattle Art Museum, and more.

In addition to his books, A.J.'s essay “Rummie” is featured in the anthology Food and Booze: A Tin House Literary Feast, and he has written for Everyday with Rachel Ray, Fine Living, and other on- and offline magazine. And his poetry has been published in numerous national literary magazines, including Crazyhorse, Gulf Coast, The Poetry Miscellany, The Indiana Review, The Sonora Review, The Southeast Review, The Spoon River Poetry Review, Third Coast, Tin House, Willow Springs, ZYZZYVA, and others, and has had poetry anthologized in Pontoon: An Anthology of Washington Writers, Volumes III and V. Learn more on his website at www.ajrathbun.com.

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