Punch

Punch is a mixed beverage, typically served hot and alcoholic, that originated in India and in this country usually consists of arrack, rum, or red wine, along with spices such as cinnamon and cloves, lemon, sugar, and water or tea.

Calidum Apfel-Holunder-Punsch von Kohl Bergapfelsaft

Punch is a mixed drink, typically served hot and containing alcohol, that originated in India. In this country, it usually consists of arrack, rum, or red wine, along with spices such as cinnamon and cloves, lemon, sugar, and water or tea.

The name counts for something. Around 1700, the word entered German from the English "punch," which is rooted in the Hindi word "pā̃c" for five, referring to the five components of the drink. English sailors spread it. Five roles, then: the alcohol, the sugar, the acid, the liquid, and the spice. Anyone holding a mug today is drinking a performance of these five roles—in the case of non-alcoholic punch, simply with a gap in the first one.

What is the difference between punch and mulled wine?

The difference is not in the mug, but in the statute books. Mulled wine is strictly regulated: according to Regulation (EU) No 251/2014, it is produced exclusively from red or white wine and flavored mainly with cinnamon or cloves, or both, and it must have an alcohol content of at least 7 and at most 14.5 percent by volume. Water may not be added. While other flavorings are permitted, they must be secondary to cinnamon and clove.

Punch, on the other hand, is not strictly regulated by law, which is exactly why the word appears so often on bottles. Anything that does not meet the requirements for mulled wine cannot be called mulled wine; punch then fills the void. Because this name reveals nothing about the contents, the label must describe the product more precisely, for example as a multi-fruit juice drink with spice extracts or as mulled punch with rum. Wine-based punch, like mulled wine, counts as an aromatized wine-based drink, where the wine must account for at least half of the product. If fruit wine is heated instead of wine, the product is called fruit mulled wine, and the guidelines for wine-like beverages specify a minimum of 5 percent alcohol by volume for apple and pear, and 5.5 percent for others. The guidelines do not even differentiate between fruit wine punch and fruit mulled wine. Two names, one drink.

Children's punch, for its part, also has no prescribed designation, which is why recipes vary widely. They share three things: no alcohol, Christmas spices, and between 25 and 100 percent fruit juice.

What is in punch?

Classic punch contains what the name implies: arrack or rum, sugar, lemon juice, water or tea, and spice. Sometimes liqueurs or fruit juices are added, and the definition is broad. "Feuerzangenbowle" (fire-tongs punch) is a type of punch; glögg, mulled wine, and grog are related. For Feuerzangenbowle, a rum-soaked sugar loaf is suspended over spiced red wine and set alight; the sugar caramelizes and drips into the wine. There are no legal requirements for its composition.

What is in a bottle is written on it; you just have to read in the right place. The designation and list of ingredients provide information about the type and composition, and for a fruit juice drink, the fruit juice content must be declared. The levels are determined by the Fruit Juice and Refreshment Drink Ordinance. Fruit juice consists of 100 percent fruit; fruit nectar consists of 25 to 50 percent, depending on the type of fruit. For fruit juice drinks, the minimum is 30 percent for apple or grape, 10 percent for other fruits, and 6 percent for citrus fruits. If the juice is made from concentrate, this must be stated on the label; direct juice may be voluntarily declared. And where there is little fruit in the drink, natural flavoring often helps out, which does not even have to come from the fruit named on the label.

Direct juice takes the short route. Kohl Bergapfelsaft in Unterinn on the Ritten, a producer in our assortment, gently presses the apples from their own orchards after harvest, does not filter the juice, and preserves it solely by briefly heating it to around 80 degrees. The freshly pressed juice thus contains only the fruit's own aromas from the fruit juice and pulp. In the Calidum, apple and elderberry meet star anise and cinnamon.

When do you drink punch?

In Germany, punch is drunk like mulled wine during the cold season, especially during the Advent period at Christmas markets. At home, it needs neither a ready-made package nor a long list of ingredients. Heat one or more fruit juices with spices of your choice and untreated orange or lemon peel, and sweeten with sugar or syrup as needed. Grate only the yellow part of the peel: the essential oil is in the wafer-thin yellow layer on the surface; the white part underneath tastes very bitter.

Then there is the one rule that makes or breaks every punch: let it steep, don't boil it. Heat slowly, not above 70 degrees and for as short a time as possible. Otherwise, the alcohol will evaporate, the Christmas spices will no longer be discernible, and it will taste boiled or bitter. A state institute examined twelve samples of children's punch from Christmas markets in 2022; one stood out due to minor sensory defects and a high content of hydroxymethylfurfural, an indicator of heating for too long. Use a pot made of stainless steel or enamel, as copper, aluminum, or iron can lead to unwanted substance transfers.

Can you drink punch cold?

The Duden dictionary puts the word "hot" in square brackets for punch, and the dictionary of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy describes it as usually hot. Usually, but not always. With non-alcoholic bottles, it is often explicitly stated in the serving suggestion: Belvoir Fruit Farms suggests their winter punch cold as well as warm and advises letting it warm up gently in a pot. Kohl recommends Calidum as a hot and cold drink and specifies a drinking temperature of 60 to 70 degrees for hot.

A plate of cookies, a bowl of nuts, and a carafe on the table: that is where those who still have to drive sit, just like everyone else.

Punch without alcohol and a spoonful of it

The Winter Punch – non-alcoholic from Belvoir Fruit Farms comes ready to drink from the bottle: water, sugar, and red grape juice, plus elderberry, blackcurrant, and orange juice concentrate and a spice blend of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The Calidum – Apple-Elderberry Punch – non-alcoholic from Kohl Bergapfelsaft is a fruit juice made from apple and elderberry with star anise and cinnamon, four-fifths apple and one-fifth elderberry.

And for the spoon: The fruit spread with punch from Alpe Pragas in Prags in the Dolomites contains apple and clementine, plus sugar, punch, cinnamon, vanilla pod, and apple pectin. It contains alcohol, 1.4 percent by volume, and therefore belongs at the adults' table. Unopened, it should be stored in a cool, dry place; once opened, keep it in the refrigerator at 4 degrees, and it will last for two weeks.

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