2.24.2013

Golden Birthday Punch

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A few weeks ago, I finally celebrated my long-anticipated Golden Birthday!

The party was perfect: my family and friends came to celebrate with me, decked in gold of course, and everything went off without a hitch. The food and the punch were both delicious, the gold decorations and paper rosettes looked great, and everyone seemed to have a really great time. My sweet mom even made me a golden birthday cake! The party was absolutely fantastic in every way.

Besides seeing all of my beloved friends and family members, the best aspect of the party was definitely the punch. I had been looking for a punch recipe to serve for awhile, and when I stumbled upon this one I knew it was "the one". It had all the right ingredients for a good punch--gin, sparkling wine, and grapefruit juice (my favorite). Everyone loved it so much that it was gone in the first hour! It was a total hit.

Thanks to everyone that made my day so wonderful. I love you all!

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Golden Punch
Adapted from Food and Wine

Serves 16

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups chilled club soda
2 cups gin
3 cups fresh grapefruit juice + a few grapefruit wheels for garnish
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sweet vermouth
4 1/2 cups chilled sparkling wine
Ice

Stir together sugar and club soda in a large pitcher until dissolved. Add gin, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, and sweet vermouth. Stir together and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Transfer mixture to a punch bowl, stir in sparkling wine, and add grapefruit wheels to the top. Serve over ice!

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