One Drink, Five Ways: Punch

Five bartenders take on the rummy (or not) bowl of booze

Welcome to our monthly feature in which we investigate (and rate!) the way one cocktail varies from bar to bar (to bar to bar to bar). Up this month: The Punch Bowl.

We're eager for a fierce punch. Long before the reign of olive-studded martinis or Jack-and-Cokes, that strong, sweet melding of spirits, spices, citrus and a spoonful of sugar—dubbed "punch"—dominated America's drunkenness. Its roots stretch back to the 17th century, when punch spread across Europe, the Caribbean and eventually the New World, where it facilitated communal intoxication.

Nowadays, punch is coming back hard, again. Some bartenders cobble together punches of beguiling complexity, served in gilded bowls and dished up in teacups; other mixologists value flash over flavor, employing flames and even Slim Jims. Here's punch—five little letters, done five ways. —Joshua M. Bernstein

Pictured: The Hibachi, at Double Down Saloon