Four Boston Spots with Standout Punch
Photograph by Toan Trinh
1. Ward 8
Bar manager Mike Wyatt is bringing Big Easy flair to his brunch cocktail menu, in the form of his rich Milk Punch, a mouth-coating swirl of cognac, milk, and grated nutmeg. Wyatt’s riff on the Brennan’s classic swaps out powdered sugar for vanilla-bean-infused simple syrup and occasionally subs brandy for a slug of spiced rum. A close cousin to traditional eggnog, this sweet elixir cleverly masks its inherent booziness, so tread lightly.
90 N. Washington St., Boston, 617-823-4478, ward8.com.
2. Yvonne’s
“There’s a conviviality about people sharing out of one oversize bowl,” says Will Thompson, bar manager at Yvonne’s. The supper-club-themed restaurant’s Moscow Mule, for instance, is presented in a copper mug the size of a jack-o-lantern, while the Crack Krakatuk—named after the impenetrable nut at the center of Alexandre Dumas’s The Tale of the Nutcracker—blends rum, apple brandy, and sparkling wine with steeped tea, for a little extra jolt.
2 Winter Place, Boston, 617-267-0047, yvonnesboston.com.
3. Tiger Mama
At Tiffani Faison’s upcoming Southeast Asian eatery, the boozy interludes play as much of a starring role as the pad thai and Singaporean chili crab, with beverage director Dan Lynch manning not one but two distinct bar concepts within the space. Lynch’s main focus is “conversation pieces” such as Don the Beachcomber–era tiki drinks dispensed into hollowed-out watermelons and coconuts, and seasonal offerings such as the Lapu Mountain Punch, which couples the smokiness of lapsang souchong tea with gin and allspice dram.
1363 Boylston St., Boston, 617-266-1300.
4. Loyal Nine
How to connect the dots between bar scribe Beachbum Berry, Loyal Nine’s weekend yacht-rock soundtrack, and chef Marc Sheehan’s passion for 18th-century New England? Rum, naturally. Hence co-owner Daniel Myers’s Blood of the Kapu Tiki, which combines the colonialists’ favorite hooch with grenadine, absinthe, and plenty of fresh lime and grapefruit juice. To further accentuate the smooth-sailing vibe, Myers garnishes each bowl with a flaming citrus-peel boat doused in 151-proof rum.
660 Cambridge St., Cambridge, 617-945-2576, loyalninecambridge.com.
MAKE IT AT HOME
La Brasa’s Millionaire’s Punch
1 750 ml. bottle Privateer Amber rum
¾ c. lime juice
6 oz. grenadine
6 oz. apricot liqueur
6 oz. sloe gin
1 nutmeg
Club soda
Mix lime juice and grenadine in a punch bowl. Fill halfway with ice, then add apricot liqueur, sloe gin, and rum. Add club soda until pleasantly diluted and not too alcoholic. Grate nutmeg on top. Serves 10 to 15.
