Steeped with cinnamon and clove, this spiced champagne punch mixes natural fruit flavors and bubbles for a delicious and less sugary punch with reduced potential for hangovers!
I know what you're thinking.
Oh! the sugar!
Champagne is already sweet, and you want me to add "punch" items to it? I can practically feel the headache forming.
This spiced champagne punch is different.
First, we really let the champagne shine through here. By that I mean there is less juice than a typical punch, leaving more room for the good stuff.
Second, spices like cloves and cinnamon add depth and flavor without added sugar. Not only does it taste better, but it cuts down on the potential hangovers!
Sugar can worsen hangovers when drinking, so I try to reduce the amount of sugar in my cocktails and punches.
I use unsweetened cranberry juice for a less sugary taste. Did you know that unsweetened cranberry juice still has up to 11g of naturally occurring sugar? There's no need for added sugar in addition to that 11 grams. You can find unsweetened cranberry juice at your local health foods store. I found mine at Sprouts.
There's also some pineapple juice and honey to sweeten the punch a little. Afterall, it is a punch.
If you prefer, you can remove the pineapple and honey for an even less sugary punch. It would be more of an herbal cocktail, but I think it would taste quite delicious.
The first step is to boil the cinnamon and cloves in water. This makes a spiced tea that will flavor the punch. It's important to do this ahead of time so the mixture has enough time to cool before mixing with the rest of the punch.
After the cinnamon, clove water cools, mix in the juices and Grand Marnier. You can make the punch ahead of time up to this point.
Just before serving, add the champagne.
I absolutely loved finding the punch bowl for this recipe, as I mentioned when I used it for our lumberjack NYE party last year!
There's an amazing thrift store, which is more like a giant estate sale conglomerate here in Denver. If you're from around here and you haven't been... check out the brass armadillo! It has amazing finds, like this adorable crystal punch bowl set with matching spoon and punch glasses.
While you can totally serve punch out of a pitcher, the punch bowl is more fun.
I found a similar one here and here if you can't find one at your local thrift stores.
To keep it chilled and not watered down, we made an ice ring. This is better than regular ice cubes because the surface area is smaller on one large ice ring than on multiple little ice cubes. That means less water will go from the ice into the punch right away.
It's also really easy to make decorative ice rings by adding a few berries, citrus or herbs to the water before freezing.
To make the ice ring,
While the punch is great by itself, I like to serve it with a few garnishes. Fresh cranberries, blueberries, and pomegranate seeds are great garnishes. Just fill little bowls with each and set near the punch with a serving spoon.
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Add cranberry juice, pineapple juice and Grand Marnier
At serving time, add 1 bottle of chilled champagne
Great served in a punch bowl with an ice ring. Garnish with blueberries, fresh cranberries or pomegranate seeds.