Flaming Punch

(Punschglühbowle)

MAKES 3 QUARTS

The name of this flaming red wine punch translates from the German as punch glow bowl. This recipe is based on one in the 1905 collection Coolers and Punches from the German Army's Maneuvers and Field Deployment.

3 bottles light-bodied red wine,
such as beaujolais
1 750-ml bottle arrack liquor,
preferably Batavia-Arrack van Oosten
or cachaça
1⁄2 cup sugar
1 seville orange (also called bitter or sour orange)
thinly sliced, seeds removed
1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed

1. In a 6-qt. pot, bring red wine and arrack to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the sugar along with the orange and lemon slices. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Transfer the punch to a heavy heatproof bowl. (A non-heatproof bowl may crack.)

2. Dip a small metal ladle into the hot punch; touch a lit match to the surface of the punch in the ladle to ignite it. Pour the flaming punch back into the bowl. Serve immediately so that the punch remains aflame in the glass.

This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #116