Today I’ve got a delicious treat for you. If you missed the reveal of my kiddo’s first birthday party yesterday, I hinted at the best part of the party – for the adults anyway – our signature drink!

Once again my girl Ashley came to my rescue. In case you haven’t followed along for awhile, Ashley is my former production assistant/cocktail recipe whiz, who is now rocking the mixology world with her own company Crafts & Cocktails. Yet again, Ashley crushed it with a custom punch recipe for the birthday party. I decided to deem it “the Mr. Carter,” because it was an upbeat, easy-going, can’t get enough cocktail – kind of like my kid!

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I requested a light and delicious recipe and Ashley did not disappoint. Punches are the perfect thing to serve at parties. You mix it once and let everyone serve themselves, leaving you to enjoy the festivities. Punches are also great because they’re often a lot less expensive then buying fancy spirits for a cocktail and can be made so they’re not overly, strong. Perfect for toddler-focused celebrations when you need a little somethin,’ but not too much!

This punch was incredibly easy to make and included some of my favorite flavors. Grapefruit (as seen in my other favorite concoction of Ashley’s), sparkling wine and Lillet. Ashley gave the recipe a sophisticated twist by adding thyme syrup. It gave the drink an almost savory quality that I know might sound a touch odd but was in fact delicious. Here’s how you can whip up a batch of your own Mr. Carter Punch for your next get together. I’d serve it at brunch, a BBQ – really any reason to get friends together!

MR. CARTER PUNCH
Ingredients
3 parts sparkling wine
1 part Lillet
2 parts grapefruit juice
1/4 part thyme simple syrup
Thyme sprig garnish
Grapefruit slice garnish, optional

Simple Syrup: To make simple syrup, bring sugar, water and thyme to a low simmer in a small pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let sit 30 minutes or overnight for a more intense flavor. Strain.

Punch: To make your punch simply combine all ingredients in a punch bowl or other serving container over ice. Pour into cups & garnish with a thyme sprig and grapefruit wedge.

When it comes to exact quantities of your ingredients, we purchased six bottles sparkling wine, two 750 ml bottles Lillet and three 32 oz cartons grapefruit juice which was more than twice what we needed for about 20 adults. It was such a light, refreshing drink I’m tempted to whip another batch right now.

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2 Comments

  1. Is it wrong I want to have this for breakfast? It looks amazing!

  2. Sounds great – what can I substitute for Lillet?