Grandma's Bar Napkin Summer Punch — "Not for the Morning Ladies Group"
Found it folded inside the breast pocket of Grandma's good winter coat, which I discovered when I took it to the dry cleaner. The handwriting wasn't hers.
"Not for the Morning Ladies Group" — Summer Punch
Grandma attended Claudette's bar — a place called Patsy's, which no longer exists, in a town I won't name — not to drink, she said, but to observe. Claudette made a summer punch she described as completely irresponsible in the best possible way. She asked for the recipe. Claudette wrote it on a cocktail napkin and slid it across the bar. Grandma folded it into her coat pocket and never looked back.
The measurements are approximate at best. Claudette's "a good pour" is a unit of volume that means something very specific to someone who has been a bartender for twenty years and something quite different to a person with a standard measuring cup and good intentions.
The first batch I made was for what I called a relaxed afternoon gathering. Nobody drove themselves home. The warning on the card is not a suggestion. It is a structural requirement.
Claudette's Bar Napkin Summer Punch
Ingredients
500ml pure cranberry juice (not cocktail)
250ml fresh orange juice
125ml fresh lemon juice
60ml simple syrup
350ml ginger ale
200ml white rum — this is where Claudette's "good pour" lived. Scale to your conscience.
Ice, orange slices, fresh mint to serve
Instructions
Combine juices and simple syrup in a large pitcher. Refrigerate until cold.
Just before serving, add ginger ale and rum. Stir gently — keep the fizz.
Serve over ice with orange slices and mint. Do not serve in a glass that looks large enough to hold a meal. People will underestimate it.
Non-alcoholic: replace rum with sparkling water and a splash more lemon. Genuinely good. Nobody feels left out.
🍹 Grandma's note: A good hostess serves something unforgettable. The rest is details.
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