So Long, Sweet Summer

Jeff Galli, Prime Meats | Brooklyn, NY

photo: Daniel Krieger

At Prime Meats in Brooklyn, the punch offered on the menu changes daily and is mixed together by the opening bartender based on “seasonal ingredients, syrups or tinctures at hand and even the weather,” says Jeff Galli.

This holiday punch was inspired by New York’s unseasonably mild December—a union of citrus, spicy barrel-aged gin and peach-cinnamon shrub meant to, Galli says, “remind you of Christmas and a long summer night, all at once.”

Many thanks to our friends at One Kings Lane for outfitting our holiday punches photoshoot, and to Prime Meats for allowing us to make a mess of your beautiful space.

Ingredients

Servings

  • 16 ounces fresh blood orange juice (strained to remove pulp)
  • 8 ounces cinnamon-ginger-peach shrub (See Editor's Note)
  • 8 ounces Cocchi Americano
  • 8 ounces dry sparkling wine
  • 4 ounces gin, preferably Greenhook Ginsmiths Old Tom Gin

Garnish: blood orange wheels, cinnamon sticks

Directions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a punch bowl.
  2. Add large ice chunks and garnish with blood orange wheels and cinnamon sticks
Editor's Note

Cinnamon-Ginger-Peach Shrub:
Adapted from a Michael Dietsch recipe
3 pounds ripe organic peaches
2 cups turbinado sugar
1 6-8 inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced into pieces
2 cinnamon sticks, lightly crushed
1 2/3 cups light, white wine-based vinegar

Crush 3 pounds of very ripe organic peaches in turbinado sugar with sliced fresh ginger. Allow to sit, covered in the fridge, until the sugar is dissolved, about 24 hours. Meanwhile, add a the gently crushed cinnamon sticks to a light, white wine-based vinegar. Allow to steep in a glass or plastic container for about 24 hours. Strain out the solids from the peach mixture through a chinois strainer, being sure to press out any extra juice. Strain the solids from the vinegar and combine it with the peach mixture. (It would be wise to hold some back the first time and taste as you slowly add the vinegar to achieve the proper balance). Stir until incorporated and all sugar is completely dissolved. Allow shrub to come together in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 10 days (and up to many months).

Tagged: Jeff Galli, large format, Prime Meats, punch, winter