Winter Berry Punch Jello Shots

More About This Recipe

• Ah, punch – the perennially festive refreshment of receptions and Ladies Aid meetings. Always a fixture at family gatherings and house parties, punch can now be found on the cocktail menus of fancy bars and restaurants, is regaled in print (the book Punch: the Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl by David Wondrich is on my winter reading list), and splashed across cocktail websites and blogs. This week I jumped on the bandwagon with Winter Berry Punch Jelly Shots. The liquid version of the cocktail appeared in a New York Times a few years ago. I am a pushover for any cocktail with St. Germain™ (an elderflower liqueur) as an ingredient, and much prefer this light, sweet-tart punch to most brown liquor versions. I modified the recipe a bit further for the jelly shot version, subbing in ginger ale for the rose champagne (lest we all float away in a haze of punch jelly!). A mold was used to set the punch jelly. Heaped with berries, the punch jelly makes a beautiful centerpiece. Somehow carving off slices off the ornate molded shape reminds me of ladling punch out of those seemingly bottomless crystal bowls. I used a 3-cup volume mini-bundt pan for this recipe. It serves about 18. Note that I had to put the mold in warm water for about 25 seconds total to unmold – the pan was quite heavy and took time to warm up. The recipe could also be set in an 8”x 8” or 9”x 9” glass or non-reactive metal pan and cut into cubes. Happy Punch-ing!