Party Starters: the World's Best Punches and Crowd Pleasers

The Moscow Mule was born in 1941 from a convergence of unsold inventories: a vodka importer, a ginger beer manufacturer, and a copper mug factory. The drink they created to shift their stock became one of the most popular cocktails of the 20th century. The copper mug is not affectation — it keeps the drink colder than glass and concentrates the ginger aroma in a way that transforms the experience. Ingredients: Vodka 2 oz, Lime juice 2 oz, Ginger ale 8 oz.

Spain's definitive party drink: a full bottle of red wine, sugar, orange and lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves, left to steep in the refrigerator for several hours before serving over ice. The key is patience — the wine and the citrus need time to integrate. A decent, inexpensive Tempranillo or Garnacha works better than an expensive wine whose subtleties will be lost. Make the day before for maximum flavour. Ingredients: Red wine 1 bottle, Sugar 0.5 cup, Orange juice 1 cup, Lemon juice 1 cup, Cloves, Cinnamon.

The Mojito scales beautifully from a single serving to a pitcher. For a crowd: muddle the mint and lime in batches, add the sugar, then the rum, then the soda water just before serving. The key is fresh lime — the bottled stuff produces a flat, sweet approximation that tastes nothing like the real thing. A pitcher of Mojitos at the right moment, with the right people, is one of the simpler pleasures life offers. Ingredients: Light rum 2-3 oz, Lime juice, Sugar 2 tsp, Mint leaves, Soda water.

The Long Island Iced Tea is the party drink that honest people admit they love but won't claim in polite cocktail conversation. It contains five white spirits in equal measure plus triple sec, lemon juice, and a splash of cola — a drink that delivers the alcoholic content of three normal cocktails while tasting like iced tea. For parties: batch the spirits and mixer ahead of time, add the cola and ice to order. Ingredients: Vodka, Rum, Gin, Tequila, Lemon juice, Coca-Cola splash.

The California Lemonade is the American party punch at its most direct: whiskey or vodka, lemon and lime juice, grenadine, soda water. It has the refreshing quality of actual lemonade with a spirit backbone that scales gracefully to large-format production. The grenadine is key — use pomegranate grenadine rather than the artificial red version for a colour and flavour that justifies the name. Ingredients: Rye whiskey, Lemon juice, Lime juice, Sugar syrup, Grenadine, Soda water.

The Champagne Cocktail is the drink of occasions: a sugar cube saturated with Angostura bitters placed at the bottom of a flute, a measure of brandy added, the glass topped with Champagne until the sugar cube dissolves in a cascade of bubbles. The bitters saturating the sugar cube means the drink grows more complex as it is drunk — bittersweet, aromatic, slightly caramel. Ingredients: Champagne, Sugar 1 cube, Angostura bitters 2 dashes, Brandy 1 tbsp.

The Cuba Libre — rum and Coca-Cola with lime, served in a highball over ice — is the most widely drunk cocktail in the world, though it is rarely called by its full name outside the countries that use Spanish. The name ("Free Cuba") dates to the Spanish-American War of 1898. What makes it better than a bare rum and Coke is the fresh lime juice: it cuts the sweetness and adds a complexity that the same drink without lime entirely lacks. Ingredients: Light rum 2 oz, Lime juice, Coca-Cola to top.

The Blue Lagoon is a party drink in the most literal sense: its colour is its selling point. Vodka, blue curacao, and lemonade produce a vivid electric blue that photographs exceptionally well and tastes cleaner and more citrus-forward than its appearance suggests. For parties: batch the vodka and curacao, add the lemonade and ice to order. Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry to complete the visual effect. Ingredients: Vodka, Blue Curacao, Lemonade.

Giuseppe Cipriani invented the Bellini at Harry's Bar in Venice in 1948: white peach puree and prosecco, the proportions set at roughly one-third to two-thirds. The drink's colour — a soft rose-gold when made with the correct white peach — reminded Cipriani of the colour of a saint's robe in a Giovanni Bellini painting, hence the name. The Bellini is the best argument for using seasonal ingredients: out of white peach season, substitute another stone fruit but accept the result will be different. Ingredients: Peach puree, Prosecco.

The Moscow Mule was born in 1941 from a convergence of unsold inventories: a vodka importer, a ginger beer manufacturer, and a copper mug factory. The drink they created to shift their stock became one of the most popular cocktails of the 20th century. The copper mug is not affectation — it keeps the drink colder than glass and concentrates the ginger aroma in a way that transforms the experience. Ingredients: Vodka 2 oz, Lime juice 2 oz, Ginger ale 8 oz.

Spain's definitive party drink: a full bottle of red wine, sugar, orange and lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves, left to steep in the refrigerator for several hours before serving over ice. The key is patience — the wine and the citrus need time to integrate. A decent, inexpensive Tempranillo or Garnacha works better than an expensive wine whose subtleties will be lost. Make the day before for maximum flavour. Ingredients: Red wine 1 bottle, Sugar 0.5 cup, Orange juice 1 cup, Lemon juice 1 cup, Cloves, Cinnamon.

The Mojito scales beautifully from a single serving to a pitcher. For a crowd: muddle the mint and lime in batches, add the sugar, then the rum, then the soda water just before serving. The key is fresh lime — the bottled stuff produces a flat, sweet approximation that tastes nothing like the real thing. A pitcher of Mojitos at the right moment, with the right people, is one of the simpler pleasures life offers. Ingredients: Light rum 2-3 oz, Lime juice, Sugar 2 tsp, Mint leaves, Soda water.

The Long Island Iced Tea is the party drink that honest people admit they love but won't claim in polite cocktail conversation. It contains five white spirits in equal measure plus triple sec, lemon juice, and a splash of cola — a drink that delivers the alcoholic content of three normal cocktails while tasting like iced tea. For parties: batch the spirits and mixer ahead of time, add the cola and ice to order. Ingredients: Vodka, Rum, Gin, Tequila, Lemon juice, Coca-Cola splash.

The California Lemonade is the American party punch at its most direct: whiskey or vodka, lemon and lime juice, grenadine, soda water. It has the refreshing quality of actual lemonade with a spirit backbone that scales gracefully to large-format production. The grenadine is key — use pomegranate grenadine rather than the artificial red version for a colour and flavour that justifies the name. Ingredients: Rye whiskey, Lemon juice, Lime juice, Sugar syrup, Grenadine, Soda water.

The Champagne Cocktail is the drink of occasions: a sugar cube saturated with Angostura bitters placed at the bottom of a flute, a measure of brandy added, the glass topped with Champagne until the sugar cube dissolves in a cascade of bubbles. The bitters saturating the sugar cube means the drink grows more complex as it is drunk — bittersweet, aromatic, slightly caramel. Ingredients: Champagne, Sugar 1 cube, Angostura bitters 2 dashes, Brandy 1 tbsp.

The Cuba Libre — rum and Coca-Cola with lime, served in a highball over ice — is the most widely drunk cocktail in the world, though it is rarely called by its full name outside the countries that use Spanish. The name ("Free Cuba") dates to the Spanish-American War of 1898. What makes it better than a bare rum and Coke is the fresh lime juice: it cuts the sweetness and adds a complexity that the same drink without lime entirely lacks. Ingredients: Light rum 2 oz, Lime juice, Coca-Cola to top.

The Blue Lagoon is a party drink in the most literal sense: its colour is its selling point. Vodka, blue curacao, and lemonade produce a vivid electric blue that photographs exceptionally well and tastes cleaner and more citrus-forward than its appearance suggests. For parties: batch the vodka and curacao, add the lemonade and ice to order. Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry to complete the visual effect. Ingredients: Vodka, Blue Curacao, Lemonade.

Giuseppe Cipriani invented the Bellini at Harry's Bar in Venice in 1948: white peach puree and prosecco, the proportions set at roughly one-third to two-thirds. The drink's colour — a soft rose-gold when made with the correct white peach — reminded Cipriani of the colour of a saint's robe in a Giovanni Bellini painting, hence the name. The Bellini is the best argument for using seasonal ingredients: out of white peach season, substitute another stone fruit but accept the result will be different. Ingredients: Peach puree, Prosecco.