Halloween Punch (Non-Alcoholic)

Before you start

A Halloween punch needs drama: a dark color, something lurking in the bowl, maybe a little fog. This version gets an inky purple from Concord grape juice and blackberries, then a toxic-looking green foam from lime sherbet floated on top just before serving. A frozen ice hand made in a clean disposable glove bobs in the middle and keeps everything cold.

Under the theatrics it is a balanced drink. Grape juice alone is very sweet, so lime juice and tart blackberries pull it back, and ginger ale gives sparkle and a little bite. Make the ice hand the night before, keep the base cold, and assemble it when the party begins. Dry ice fog is popular, but handle it with care, as explained in the safety note.

Ingredients

• Ice hand1 new food-safe disposable glove — nitrile or vinyl, powder-free
• 400 ml (13½ oz) white grape juice or water — tinted with a drop of green food coloring if you like
• Punch base1.5 liters (50 oz) Concord grape juice — chilled
• 300 g (2 cups) blackberries — fresh or frozen
• 120 ml (4 oz) fresh lime juice — about 5 limes
• 250 ml (8½ oz) tart cherry juice — for depth; optional
• To finish1 liter (34 oz) ginger ale — well chilled
• 500 ml (about 1 pint) lime sherbet — scooped
• Garnish1 cup gummy worms or peeled lychees — lychees stuffed with a blueberry look like eyeballs

Method

1. Fill the glove with the grape juice or water, squeeze out the air, and clip it closed. Lay it flat on a tray, fingers spread, and freeze for about 12 hours.
2. Blend 200 g of the blackberries with the lime juice until smooth. Strain the purée through a fine strainer, pressing to extract all the juice and leave the seeds behind.
3. Stir the blackberry-lime purée, grape juice and cherry juice together in a pitcher. Taste: it should be fruity and noticeably tart. Chill for at least 3 hours.
4. When ready to serve, run the glove briefly under cool water, then snip and peel it away from the ice hand.
5. Pour the chilled base into the punch bowl and add the ice hand, letting the fingers poke out above the surface.
6. Slowly pour in the ginger ale, then add scoops of lime sherbet so a green foam spreads across the dark punch.
7. Scatter the remaining whole blackberries and the gummy worms or lychee eyeballs around the hand. Serve right away.

Tips for success

• Spread the glove's fingers apart before freezing. Fingers that freeze stuck together look like a mitten.
• For an almost black punch, stir in a few drops of black gel food coloring sold for cake decorating. Add it one drop at a time; it darkens fast.
• Set out a separate bowl of plain ice so the hand can stay the centerpiece instead of a pile of cubes.

Substitutions

Concord grape juice

Pomegranate juice makes a redder, tarter punch with a blood-like color. Use 1.2 liters and add 120 ml simple syrup if it is too sharp.

Lime sherbet

Orange sherbet gives a pumpkin-colored foam. Leave sherbet out entirely for a dairy-free punch.

Ginger ale

Lemon-lime soda is sweeter; soda water keeps it drier. Both work at the same volume.

Variations

Witch's brew

Use white grape juice, lime juice and green apple juice for a vivid green base, then float orange sherbet on top.

Bloody cups

Dip each cup rim in warm corn syrup tinted with red food coloring and let it drip down the sides before filling.

Troubleshooting

The glove tears or sticks to the ice

Run the hand under cool water for 10 to 15 seconds to loosen it, then cut the glove open at the wrist rather than pulling.

The punch is cloyingly sweet

Concord juice is very sugary. Add lime juice 30 ml at a time, or swap some ginger ale for soda water.

The green foam disappears fast

Sherbet melts quickly in room-temperature punch. Make sure the base is fridge-cold and add a couple of fresh scoops every 20 minutes.

Storage

The punch base keeps covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Once soda and sherbet go in, serve within about 2 hours and do not leave it out longer than that. Leftover base can be refrigerated; discard any punch that has sat out with melted sherbet.

Safety notes

Dry ice can cause severe skin burns and should never be put in individual cups or eaten. If you use it for fog, place it in a separate container under the punch bowl, handle it with tongs and gloves, and keep it away from children. Sherbet contains milk.