When she’s entertaining, mixologist Kyla Hein likes to make punch.
“It’s very much in accordance with celebration,” says Hein, operating owner and beverage director for Whining Pig Enterprises, the team behind craft cocktail lounges and restaurants including Rough Rider and Pigtails. “Anytime I have a party, anytime I go somewhere, I make a punch.”
“It’s very much in accordance with celebration,” says Hein, operating owner and beverage director for Whining Pig Enterprises, the team behind craft cocktail lounges and restaurants including Rough Rider and Pigtails. “Anytime I have a party, anytime I go somewhere, I make a punch.”
The communal tipple is considered the earliest form of a cocktail, with the first known recipe dating back to the 1600s. Punches were sipped by the Founding Fathers and have been used by hostesses to greet guests for centuries. At a time when communal experiences seem to be all the rage – from shareable-plate menus at restaurants to curated group travel – bars are getting in on the fun.
“It’s definitely a big trend right now,” Hein says. “It’s not really new, but a big thing right now is about intentionality and community. It’s very similar to tapas-style food menus.”
Hein and Aaron DeFeo, co-owner of downtown Phoenix cocktail bar Little Rituals, have always had punches on their menus. DeFeo attributes some of the current interest in punches and other large-format drinks to the aftermath of the pandemic.
“After COVID, people really wanted to be more social and be in larger groups and return to that normalcy,” he says.
Punches allow bartenders to play with flavor combinations and get creative. At Little Rituals, the large drinks are served in an absinthe fountain.
Little Rituals
What are punches and large-format cocktails?
Despite the long history of punch, it’s not a widely recognized or understood drink.Hein and DeFeo both say they’ve heard it equated to jungle juice – the frat-bro approach to making ridiculously large-scale cocktails with grain alcohol and cheap mix-ins like light beer and Hawaiian Punch.
“It’s the same idea,” Hein says. “It’s not the same execution.”
Punches generally have a template to work from, allowing for flexibility in flavor combinations. A lyrical template used at Little Rituals is for Barbados punch.
“It’s one part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong and four parts weak,” DeFeo explains. "That’s the punch-like recipe sort of distilled down.”
Hein and DeFeo both like to use tea in their punches as the “weak” addition – the element that dilutes the drink but also can impart flavor and a bit of spice.
And, because of the flexibility of the recipe, punches allow bartenders to get creative.
“It gives our team a constant outlet for experimentation,” DeFeo says. “Some of the flavor profiles we’ve built in punches have eventually gone on to be cocktails on our menu.”
Feeling thirsty?
While not all of these offerings are punches, they’re all oversized, over-the-top and promise an experience that’s better when shared with friends. Here are eight places around the Valley to sip a unique, large drink.Rough Rider
1001 N. Central Ave. This downtown Phoenix basement bar serves a dark speakeasy vibe, but the drinks take cues from the Victorian era and one of its most notable leaders – Teddy Roosevelt. Among the options on Rough Rider’s cocktail menu is a section dedicated to individual servings of punch, which use tea from Phoenix’s Loose Leaf Tea Market. On Sundays, Rough Rider’s bar team gets creative and makes a special rotating punch, available for $10 a glass. But it’s the Party Punch that’s fit for a group. The large-format cocktail is made-to-order and tailored to the taste of the guests, Hein says. It comes in two sizes. A $75 option is ideal for three or more and serves about five cocktails. For groups of over five, the larger option serves about 10 cocktails for $125.Little Rituals
132 S. Central Ave., Fourth Floor DeFeo and Ross Simon’s bar inside the Residence Inn/Courtyard by Marriott has had a punch on its menu since it opened in 2019. The drink is an everchanging bartender’s choice, but its showstopping vessel is a constant. Little Rituals' punch comes in an absinthe fountain, serving three to six for $59. The tall dispenser allows guests to fill their cups from one of its spigots and has lights inside to add some drama.The bar also features a rotating clarified milk punch, served individually in a teacup for $15 or in a milk jug for two to four guests for $50.
“It makes things more delicate. It adds a mouthfeel of its own, which really can enhance a cocktail,” DeFeo says of the clarifying process.
The Scorpion Bowl at The Captain's Cabin, a hidden bar in Hula's Modern Tiki's Phoenix location.
Micheal Carbajal
The Captain’s Cabin
5114 N. Seventh St., #2 Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron, the godfather of tiki bars and tropical drinks, is said to have created the scorpion bowl after imbibing a cocktail of rum, citrus, orgeat and brandy at Honolulu bar The Hut. He scaled up the single drink for groups at his Oakland bar, and while the recipe evolved over time, the iconic presentation of a bowl, often with a flaming center, endures. You can taste the biting cocktail at The Captain’s Cabin – a hidden watering hole inspired by Tahitian sailor bars of the 1940s. Enter through the porthole door at the Phoenix location of Hula’s Modern Tiki from Thursday to Saturday, where you’ll find all manner of tropical-inspired drinks and a selection of rums. The Scorpion Bowl ($35) is made for groups of two to four and includes white rum, brandy, orange, lemon and orgeat.
Garden Bar's Plush Port Punch is available by the glass or bowl, perfect for sharing with friends.
Chanelle Sinclair
Garden Bar
822 N. Sixth Ave. The charming craft cocktail bar housed in a downtown bungalow updates its drinks menu with the seasons. Currently, Garden Bar is featuring Plush Port Punch. Available by the glass ($14) or by the bowl ($68), the clarified milk punch uses ruby port, “Bomb Pop” black tea, Cachaça, lemon, rose and nutmeg. You can also get this punch to-go. Plush Port Punch is available in 16-ounce bottles for $36 which serve five.
The Malibu Barbie, available at Hash Kitchen, serves a cocktail for two out of a purse.
Hash Kitchen
