Can you tell how much I have SUN on the brain?
I am ready.
I’m ready to sit in the driveway and sip a boozy punch. I’m ready to toss cherries into cocktails and justify it as a serving of fruit. I’m ready to clink these pink glasses at 6PM (fine, 4PM) on a Thursday while grilling pizza. And for the record, I normally hate toasting.
Also, I might have gone a little overboard planning Kentucky Derby–style cocktails a month early, but it’s never too soon to throw a mini party, right?
I’m a huge fan of amaretto. An amaretto sour was the first “real” drink I had at a bar in college — something beyond watery pitcher beer or dorm-room Malibu rum.
Sidenote: after those Malibu nights we couldn’t even keep an unlit coconut-scented candle in our room without regretting it. Whoops.
Eddie probably likes amaretto, as long as he doesn’t know that it’s amaretto. He definitely doesn’t like bourbon or whiskey. When he went to the Derby a couple years ago he tried a mint julep and couldn’t finish it. His usual drinks include lots of fruit juice, rum, lime and an umbrella. I’m not even joking.
If there’s an umbrella involved, he almost always loves it.
Because of that, I gave the punch a tropical twist to tempt him to take a sip. I’ve been sharing more favorite cocktail recipes this year, and one truth remains: making an entire pitcher of something delicious is rough when you’re the only one who wants to drink it.
It’s fun — until it isn’t.
When that happens, we turn the leftovers into boozy granitas. They’re delightful and keep the party going without wasting the drink.
This punch is versatile — in my biased opinion it works for spring, summer, Mother’s Day and any casual gathering that might include pizza, brownies, salad or potato chips.
The drink reads pink in photos, though it’s not overly pink in flavor. I spoon a little maraschino cherry juice into the bottom of the glasses, and then pour the punch over crushed ice. The pink glasses make me want to drink from them every day forever.
We’ll start with amaretto bourbon punch and go from there.
Amaretto Bourbon Punch
6
25 mins
Ingredients
- 2 cups bourbon
- 2 cups ginger ale
- 1 cup amaretto
- 1 cup simple syrup
- 1 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice, plus extra for the glasses
- maraschino cherries, for topping
- orange slices for garnish
Instructions
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Combine the bourbon, ginger ale, amaretto, simple syrup, lime juice, orange juice and maraschino cherry juice in a pitcher and stir. Taste and adjust sweetness or strength — add more amaretto, bourbon or syrup to suit your preference.
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Fill serving glasses with crushed ice and add a few drops of cherry juice to the bottom. Pour the punch over the ice and garnish with cherries and orange slices.
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Note: Simple syrup is equal parts water and sugar. Heat 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar until boiling, whisk until the sugar dissolves, then cool to room temperature.
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I still cheers you because you’re my favorite.