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Perfect Spiced Pear Bourbon Punch: Best Easy Holiday Cocktail

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This spiced pear bourbon punch is the cocktail you didn’t know you needed for the holidays. It’s forgiving, flexible, and tastes like you spent way more time on it than you actually did, with a homemade spiced pear syrup that makes all the difference.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 ripe Bartlett or Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 whole star anise
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 1 strip of orange zest (about 3 inches long)
  • 2 cups bourbon (e.g., Buffalo Trace or Bulleit)
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
  • 2 cups ginger ale or ginger beer
  • Ice (large block or cubes)
  • Thin pear slices and fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Make the spiced pear syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine the chopped pears, water, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, and orange zest. Stir, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes until pears are very soft and liquid is fragrant and slightly thickened.
  2. Strain the syrup: Place a fine-mesh strainer over a heatproof bowl or large measuring cup. Pour the hot syrup through the strainer, pressing down on solids with the back of a spoon to extract all liquid. Discard solids. Let syrup cool to room temperature (or refrigerate for 15 minutes). Syrup keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
  3. Prepare the punch base: In a large pitcher or punch bowl, combine the cooled spiced pear syrup, bourbon, and fresh lemon juice. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours to let flavors meld.
  4. Add bubbles and ice: Just before serving, pour in the ginger ale or ginger beer and stir gently. Add ice (preferably a large block or ring mold to minimize dilution).
  5. Garnish and serve: Float thin pear slices and fresh rosemary sprigs on top. For individual servings, pour over ice in rocks glasses or lowball glasses and add a small garnish to each.

Notes

Don’t rush the syrup; let pears simmer for full 20 minutes for concentrated flavor. Use a vegetable peeler for orange zest to avoid bitterness. Chill all ingredients in advance to reduce ice dilution. Taste the base before adding ginger ale and adjust lemon juice for balance. For a double batch, scale ingredients accordingly.

Nutrition

Keywords: spiced pear bourbon punch, holiday cocktail, easy punch recipe, pear bourbon drink, winter cocktail, party punch

Find it online: https://lemonydrinks.com/perfect-spiced-pear-bourbon-punch-best-easy-holiday-cocktail/