Peach Punch Cocktail

Peach Punch
Lisa Hubbard / Photolibrary / Getty Images
Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

There's no need to wait for peach season with this refreshing and easy peach punch recipe. The single-serve cocktail features a wonderful peach-flavored vodka with a hint of floral sweetness, creating a drink that is simple, elegant, and tantalizing.

Mixologist Hal Wolin devised this delightful cocktail for New Amsterdam Spirits. It uses the brand's sprightly and reasonably priced peach vodka, which works wonders with other light fruits like the orange and lime used in the recipe. The drink would be rather boring, however, if it were not for that little punch for elderflower liqueur. The light profile complements and enhances the fruits beautifully.

This recipe is also an ideal candidate for serving as a party punch. It's especially fitting for wedding showers and makes a fantastic summer brunch pitcher drink.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces peach vodka, such as New Amsterdam

  • 1/2 ounce elderflower liqueur

  • 1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed

  • 1/2 ounce orange juice, freshly squeezed

  • Lemon wedge, or peach slice, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour the peach vodka, elderflower liqueur, and lime and orange juices.

  3. Shake well.

  4. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

  5. Garnish with a lemon or peach slice. Serve and enjoy.

Tips

  • Fresh citrus juices definitely make a brighter, better tasting peach punch. You should be able to squeeze half a lime for the required 1/2 ounce. One orange yields 2 to 3 ounces, more than enough for a few drinks.
  • For the elderflower liqueur, St. Germain is probably the easiest to find and best-known brand. Bertina, Bols, Drillaud, and Fiorente are a few other brands that produce it as well.
  • The other option, if you have access to fresh elderflowers, is to make your own nonalcoholic elderflower cordial. It's a fun project that is ready within a couple of days because you'll have to let the flowers and lemons steep in the sugar water.

How Strong Is a Peach Punch?

This cocktail is actually more of a fruity vodka martini than a punch, particularly when it comes to the alcohol content. Even though New Amsterdam Peach is bottled at 70 proof rather than vodka's standard 80 proof, the drink still mixes up to a hefty 20 percent ABV (40 proof), equivalent to drinks like the cosmopolitan. It's a peachy drink that packs a real punch.

Recipe Variations

Generally, transforming this recipe into a punch is very straight forward because all of the ingredients except the vodka are equal. You can simply increase each of them for the number of servings you need. However, it can be a little strong to serve unsuspecting guests (10 percent ABV is more of a comfortable range for party punches) unless you're going for a martini brunch. There are a few ways to knock the strength down while retaining a delicious, fruity taste.

  • Increasing the juices is the easiest option. Doubling up on the lime and orange juices so they collectively equal the vodka will help out.
  • Another option is to add a nonalcoholic peach ingredient to back up the vodka's flavor. Try splitting the vodka in half and making up the difference with peach nectar or juice.
  • The other super easy option is to transform the punch into a sparkling delight. Mix up the drink as is in a pitcher, then serve it in ice-filled tumblers, filling each with a lightly flavored soda (e.g., club soda, ginger ale, lemon-lime soda). A sparkling rosé or white wine are also good options that add volume and effervescence with minimal alcohol.
  • The soda or sparkling wine finishing touch also works for the single cocktail if you'd like to make the drink taller and more refreshing.