Buying, Making & Using Swedish Punsch

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Last night I played around with the Have A Heart and oddly named Diki-Diki cocktails from VS&FC.

Wasn't really sure about gin and swedish punsch but I thought maybe this would be a good place for Tanqueray Rangpur which has been sitting on my shelf for a while because I am not really sure how best to use it. I thought its citrus-y characteristics might lend well to this kind of drink. So tonight it was a comparison of Have a Heart Coctails using both regular Tanq and Tanq Rangpur.

The Tanq version had a clear gin/juniper edge which was to be expected. While OK it wasn't really a taste combination that appealed to me. The punsch does kind of get lost between the gin and lime juice. The Rangpur variation seemed a bit more tart and citrus-y with less gin/juniper predominating. But perhaps that was just what I was expecting it to taste like. Overall I thought it made a better drink and will be one that I may subject friends to in the future to get additional opinions.

Then for a change of pace I gave the Diki-Diki a try. The Calvados again pretty well dominated the punsch here and I was surprised that the grapefruit juice (white and unsweetened, not pink) also was well in the background. Seemed a pretty dry drink, although that may just be my own sweet tooth, but if I try it again I might bump up the punsch to make it a 2:1:1 ratio that differs a little from the one listed in the book.

While playing with the punsch I may give the last cocktail noted in the book using punsch, the Modernista cocktail, a try. Doc Cocktail's variation on the Modern cocktail (or Modern Maid), it does indeed sound like a challenging drink.

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I tried the Mabel Berra from cocktaildb.com. It's:

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

3/4 oz Sloe Gin

1 oz Swedish Punsch

The drink was nicely balanced. There's a nice tartness from the lime, but it's not overwhelming. The punsh and sloe gin flavor combine nicely together. I'll think I'll have another.

My cousin spoke to a Swedish speaker who confirmed the u is pronounced like the oo in harpoon, not how we normally say punch. It's the only Swedish word I know, so I want to get it right.

Sounds like another combo worth a try. Would like to have a few more drinks using sloe gin to add to the repertoire!