Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Tequila & Mezcal Cocktails

Mexican Punch

By
Liquor.com
Liquor.com

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Updated 02/20/22
Two thin-walled, thin-based rocks glasses rest on a white surface. They’re filled with a bright red drink, ice and lime wedges. Cut limes rest on a plate behind them, along with a yellow and white-striped towel.

  Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

When hosting a large group for a party or other kind of get-together, one of the easiest and most time-honored ways of serving drinks is by making a big bowl of punch. These large format concoctions mean all the preparation happens ahead of the event, leaving you free to socialize and wrangle party-goers when needed, rather than keeping you behind the bar or in the kitchen all night.

One such punch recipe is the Mexican Punch, which is easy to put together and whose ingredients are easy to source. While it might look like the sort of thing more commonly found at college parties than at cocktail bars, it comes from the James Beard Award-winning bartender Toby Maloney, co-owner of the lauded Violet Hour in Chicago and Nashville’s Patterson House.

Given its name, it’s no surprise that the base—and only—spirit that goes into the Mexican Punch is tequila. You’ll want to use a blanco tequila, but other than that it’s up to you which brand to use. It’s best not to go too pricey, considering how many other ingredients go into the punch.

The Mexican Punch doesn’t lack for citrus, with quartered lemons, limes and oranges, as well as seven ounces of lime juice. That acidity is needed, thanks to the sweetness of the other ingredients: simple syrup, grenadine and, oddly, a good deal of 7UP. While you can use whatever store-bought brand of grenadine you can find, the punch will end up much better if you use a good-quality one, with real pomegranate and no artificial flavorings. The best way to do so is to simply make it yourself. While it’s definitely more labor-intensive, your tastebuds will be able to tell the difference.

Ingredients

  • 3 limes, quartered

  • 2 lemons, quartered

  • 1 orange, quartered

  • 15 ounces blanco tequila

  • 7 ounces simple syrup

  • 7 ounces lime juice, freshly squeezed

  • 6 ounces grenadine

  • 7 dashes aromatic bitters

  • 12 ounces 7UP

  • Garnish: lime wedge

Steps

Serves 6.

  1. In a large pitcher, muddle the limes, lemons and orange.

  2. Add the tequila, simple syrup, lime juice, grenadine and bitters.

  3. Stir well and add ice.

  4. Top with the 7Up and stir gently.

  5. Divide between 6 rocks glasses and garnish each with a lime wedge.