WITCHES' BREW PUNCH

By BobD

Ingredients

• FOR SPICE SYRUP:
• 13 CUPS
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 5 whole cloves
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• A chilled 25.4-ounce bottle sparkling cider (about 3 1/4 cups)
• A chilled 1-quart bottle cranberry juice cocktail
• A chilled 1-liter bottle club soda or seltzer water
• 1 cup dark rum if desired
• FOR SERVING: ice blocks in any shape (see cooks' note)

Details

Servings 13
Adapted from gourmet.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a small saucepan bring syrup ingredients to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and simmer, covered, 5 minutes. Cool syrup. Syrup may be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.

In a punch bowl combine remaining ingredients and strain syrup through a fine sieve into punch.

Stir punch and add ice blocks. Makes about 13 cups.

COOKS NOTE: Ice blocks for punch can take any form you wish.

We rinsed out surgical gloves and filled them with water, tying them closed. After freezing the water balloons on a baking sheet, the gloves peeled off easily and we were left with icy hands to chill our witches brew.