Bourbon Sparkling Punch
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This Bourbon Sparkling Punch is THE batch cocktail of the holiday season. I love mixing pear and bourbon together with some herbs and a touch of sweetness. Batching it all together in a punch for my guests during the holidays feels like such a special and thoughtful way to host. It’s also so easy to mix up a batch cocktail ahead of time so you’re not stuck being bartender all night. I’ve included everything you need to know about batching and diluting cocktails below so you’re ready for hosting season!
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Make it With Me
- To a pitcher add your bourbon (try Still Austin), pear juice, lemon juice, vanilla maple syrup, and orange bitters.
- Mix everything together and take a sip to taste. If you want, you can dilute the pitcher with 1/2 cup of filtered water.
- Place it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it up.
- When it’s cocktail hour, either a) pour the diluted mix over a large ice cube, or b) if you didn’t dilute it, add the mix to a cocktail shaker filled with ice to shake and strain into glasses with an ice cube.
- Top with 2 oz. of Champagne and garnish!
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All Your Hosting and Batching Needs Covered
Easy Flavor Swaps
I’m all about making cocktails your own, so here are some easy swaps if you don’t have some of the ingredients on hand or are going for a slightly different vibe.
| If you don’t have… | Use this instead | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pear Juice | Apple Cider or Cranberry Juice | Cozier and sweeter flavors |
| Vanilla Maple Syrup | Maple Syrup or Flavored Simple Syrup (Brown Sugar, Rosemary, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Honey) | Play up the hero flavor you want to shine |
| Lemon Juice | Fresh Orange Juice | Softer acidity with a more “holiday” citrus |
| Orange Bitters | Angostura Bitters | Deeper baking spice characters |
| Champagne | Prosecco or Dry Cider | Prosecco is slightly sweeter while cider is more seasonal |
| Bourbon | Dark Rum | Make it a Holiday Rum Punch moment |
Let’s Riff
Ginger Pear Bourbon Fizz Punch
Keep the pear and maple syrup base, but replace the lemon juice with fresh lime juice. And instead of Champagne, top your Fizz Punch with ginger beer!
Bourbon Sparkling Punch
Ingredients
- 2 cups Bourbon, try
Still Austin or theCinnamon Sugar Butter Fat Washed Bourbon we made - 1.5 cups Pear juice
- 3/4 cup Lemon juice
- 1/2 cup
Vanilla Bean Maple Syrup , or maple syrup - 1/2 oz. Orange bitters
- 1/2 cup Filtered water, if not shaking when ready to serve
- 2 oz. Champagne, per serving
- Garnish: Rosemary, pear slice, star anise, etc.
Instructions
- To a pitcher add bourbon, pear juice, lemon juice, maple syrup, and orange bitters.
- If using, dilute pitcher with ½ cup filtered water.
- Mix together and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve either a) pour the diluted mix over a cube or b) if you didn’t dilute, add the mix to a cocktail shaker filled with ice to shake and strain into glasses with an ice cube.
- Top each glass with 2 oz. of Champagne and garnish!
How to Batch Cocktails
Batching cocktails — making a large batch ahead of time in pitchers and punch bowls — is a brilliant way to host without turning into a bartender for the evening. I love batching cocktails for just about any gathering, and almost any cocktail can be batched — margaritas, spritzes, sours, negronis, cosmos, espresso martinis… all of it.
In general, you can batch any cocktail by multiplying a single serving by the number of guests you’re serving (and how many drinks you think they’ll each have). But an even easier way to do it that avoids multiplication, is just by swapping ounces for cups and adding dilution. So, 1 oz. of bourbon turns into 1 cup of bourbon, and so on down the list of ingredients.
Diluting Cocktails
Listen, cocktails taste good because they are diluted. Otherwise, they would be shots. There’s a time and a place for doing shots, but it’s usually not during happy hour.
When you shake cocktail ingredients with ice, you’re not just chilling it, you’re adding about 20–30% water to the drink. But when you batch in a pitcher, there’s no ice contact, so you need to account for the water your ice would have added in other ways. I got you…
2 Ways to Dilute Batch Cocktails
Both work, but Option 2 tastes the closest to bar-quality.
Option 1: Add water directly to the pitcher
Best for Batching Stirred Cocktails
This is the fastest, easiest, and technically correct way of doing things. For stirred cocktails like Negronis, Martinis, Old Fashioneds, and Manhattans, you should add about 10% water. If your total pitcher volume is 40 oz, add 4 oz water. You’ll dilute with water in the pitcher as well as serve it over ice later, so you’ll get dilution both ways.
Option 2: Shake the base in smaller batches
Best for Batching Shaken Cocktails
This is also known as the more difficult way of diluting cocktails, but is ideal for shaken citrus cocktails. Make your pitcher cocktail according to the recipe, but don’t add in any dilution! Instead, when you’re ready to serve, pour about 2-3 servings (depending on your shaker size) into your shaker, add ice and shake. You’ll end up with the correct dilution and a cold base.
Storing and Serving Batch Cocktails
Once your cocktail is batched and diluted (if choosing option 1 above), cover the pitcher and refrigerate it for at least 2-3 hours before you plan on serving it. You can make your Bourbon Sparkling Punch (or any other batched cocktail) no more than 6 hours before you plan on serving it.
If you’re serving your cocktail with bubbles (champagne, soda, ginger beer), like you do for the Bourbon Sparkling Punch, don’t add the bubbles until you’re ready to serve. It won’t exactly still be “sparkling” if the bubbles go flat hours before the first sip. Instead, top the cocktails with Champagne in their individual glasses.
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