A wide assortment of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, fall into the category of punch. Often made with a combination of fruit juice and a carbonated beverage, a punch is served at parties weddings and other celebrations in large, wide bowls known as punch bowls.
Punch was believed to have been introduced by sailors to England via India in the early seventeenth century. Punch grew quickly in popularity and was soon spread to other countries.
The word punch is a loanword from Hindi panch (meaning five). The drink was originally made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon, water and tea or spices. The original drink was named paantsch.
Soft drink manufacturers today distribute many types of “fruit punch” beverages. Typically they are red in color and despite the name, they only contain a small fraction of actual fruit juice with the major constituents being sugar or corn syrup, citric acid, and artificial flavors.
Punch is the term for a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice.
- The term punch was first recorded in British documents in 1632. At the time, most punches were of the wassail type made with a wine or brandy base.
- Around 1655, Jamaican rum came into use and the ‘modern’ punch emerged. By 1671, documents make references to punch houses.
- Punches are extremely common among parties for college and university students. These punches tend to be highly alcoholic and made with cheap ingredients.
- In 1934 A.W. Leo, Tom Yates and Ralph Harrison developed the first Hawaiian Punch recipe in a converted garage in Fullerton, Calif. They wanted a tropical-tasting syrup to add to their line of ice cream toppings sold under the trade name Pacific Citrus Products Company.
- Largest Punch Bowl-world record set by Courvoisier and Bompas & Parr. They created “The Architectural Punchbowl”, a whole room transformed into a giant punchbowl holding 4,000 liters of a new cocktail called ‘The Emperor’s Shrub.’
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