Entertaining

7 Easy Party Punches Anyone Can Make

The LIIT has earned its nefarious reputation because it’s easy—easy to make, easy to drink, easy to love. If a normal sized Long Island Iced Tea is enough to lay out a standard drinker, this supersize version is like an elephant tranquilizer. While you will need a number of bottles to achieve the quadruple boozy balance that characterizes the heavy drink, the bottles are used in full, so there’s no need to measure.

This rosé champagne “giant cocktail” is far from the basic bowl of party punch you’ve come to expect. With vodka, crème de pêche (peach liqueur), lemon juice and honey joining the pink bubbly, this bright, fruity, spritzy cocktail is like a refined (yet equally easy) take on Sangria, complete with berries and mint for garnish. You can even throw some edible flowers on top, which take literally zero preparation but will totally dazzle on Instagram.

You know a punch is good when it popularizes a new booze across the world. The Pisco Punch introduced Americans to the eponymous grape brandy in the 19th century, and it’s so darn easy to make that the drink has stuck around ever since. If you’ve never tried it and are worried about buying a full bottle of pisco, consider this an excuse because the recipe calls for a whole bottle. The only tricky bit is making pineapple gomme syrup, but you can just buy that and look fancy for almost nothing.

While celebratory game day refreshments don’t get much easier than cracking a beer in front of the TV, this punch is 10 times tastier and requires very little effort. Mexican lager joins grapefruit soda, a bottle of mezcal, cans of frozen limeade, lime juice and salt. Don’t worry if the bowl runs dry; you can whip up a second batch during halftime.

If frat bros can handle this recipe, so can you. Our version strips the party punch down to its basics, reverting to simple proportions of unspecified spirits. This not only ensures you won’t get an unbalanced bowl of straight fire or cloying juice, but also means you can cobble it together with ingredients you probably already have at home. Heck, you don’t even need a punch bowl if you’re willing to go frat style with a garbage can.

Sherry is the conventional beverage in Spanish tapas bars, but it isn’t as popular stateside—until this punch came along and let everyone in on the fun. Made entirely with full bottles, it can practically be mixed while blindfolded. One taste will open everyone’s eyes to the magic of the Spanish fortified wine.

On sunny summer days (or days you’re longing for the season), you just want to get outside as soon as possible. This beach-perfect rum punch can be batched in a jiffy, so you can throw it in a bag and go. During other times of year, the quick recipe will remind you of those dog days and bring a little warm weather comfort to your soul.