punsch

File:Caloric punsch advertistement circa 1885.jpg

Punsch (or punssi in Finnish) is a type of liqueur popular in Sweden and Finland. It is most frequently called Swedish Punsch, and while historical variations have also been called {{lang|sv|Militär Punsch}}, {{lang|sv|Arrack Pun(s)ch}}, and {{lang|sv|Caloric Pun(s)ch}}, punsch should not be confused with the English term "punch".{{cite web |title=Punch |url=https://punchdrink.com/articles/bringing-it-back-bar-swedish-punsch-cocktails-recipes/ |website=PunchDrink.com |date=4 June 2016 |accessdate=19 January 2019}} It is made by the mixing of spirits (arrack, brandy or rum) with arrak tea (lemon and spices), sugar, and water,{{cite web |title=Systembolaget |url=https://www.systembolaget.se/fakta-och-nyheter/sprit/olika-spritsorter/punsch |website=Systembolaget.se |accessdate=28 June 2018|language=Swedish}} and was first brought to Sweden from Java in 1733. The spirit arrack is the base ingredient in most punsches, also imported into Europe by the Dutch from their colony in Batavia, Dutch East Indies.{{cite web |title=Batavia Arrack van Oosten |url=https://alpenz.com/product-batavia.html |website= Alpenz.com| publisher= Haus Alpenz |accessdate=19 January 2019}} Punsch usually has 25% alcohol by volume (ABV) and 30% sugar.{{cite encyclopedia | title =Punsch | encyclopedia =Nordiska Familjebok, Uggleupplagan |via= Project Runebergh | year =1915 | publisher =Nordisk familjeboks förl. | location =Stockholm | volume =22 | page =609 | url =https://runeberg.org/nfcb/0321.html | language =Swedish | access-date =7 August 2014}}

While still made in Sweden by combining ingredients, since the later part of the 19th century it is frequently purchased as a bottled liqueur under various brand names. It is drunk both warmed and chilled.

Etymology

Originally, Swedish/Finnish punsch was a variant of punch, which became a popular drink all over Europe in the 18th century, having been introduced in Britain from India in the late 17th century. Some believe the word punch/punsch came from a loanword from Persian panj, meaning "five", as punch was originally made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices.{{cite web| url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Punch |title= Punch| work= etymonline.com; Online Etymology Dictionary| publisher= | date= | access-date= }} Others believe the word originates from the English puncheon, which was a volumetric description for certain sized barrels used to transport alcohol on ships.{{cite web |title=Punsch, A Gift from God (translated) |url=https://naringslivshistoria.se/bizstories-nyheter/naringslivshistoria/punsch-du-gudalika-gava-2/ |website=naringslivshistoria.se |date=4 April 2018 |accessdate=26 January 2019}}{{cite web |title=The History of Punch |url=https://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/1300/cocktails/punch-the-history-of-punch |website=diffordsguide.com |accessdate=27 January 2019}} The English spelling of the word was in Sweden and Germany adapted to local spelling rules, thus becoming punsch.{{cite web| url= http://spritmuseum.se/start/kunskap/dryckernas-historia/punsch/ |title= Punsch - varm eller kall| website= Spritmuseum.se| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140304230116/http://spritmuseum.se/start/kunskap/dryckernas-historia/punsch/ |archivedate=2014-03-04 |language= sv| access-date= }} In Sweden, regular punch is also served, but is instead known as bål (bowl). Punsch became such a tradition in Sweden that it influenced the language: there are some 80 words in the Swedish dictionary derived from punsch.{{cite web |title=Swedish Punsch in History |url=https://alpenz.com/Swedish_Punsch_in_History_and_Mixology.html |website=alpenz.com |accessdate=19 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120043141/https://alpenz.com/Swedish_Punsch_in_History_and_Mixology.html |archive-date=20 January 2019 |url-status=dead }}

History of punsch

File:1891_era_bottle_of_punsch.png

The Swedish East India Company started to import arrack with the arrival of their ship Fredricus Rex Sueciae to Gothenburg in 1733. It quickly became popular, especially among the wealthy, who could afford the price of imported spirits and teas to make punsch. Later it spread through all levels of society, including students, the military, and fraternal orders, becoming a truly national drink.{{cite web| url= http://www.karlshamnsmuseum.se/ezweb/?ID=1&Page=2&UPage=1 |title= Punsch & Spelkort - Mera punsch| website= karlshamnsmuseum.se| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140809233900/http://www.karlshamnsmuseum.se/ezweb/?ID=1&Page=2&UPage=1 |archivedate=2014-08-09 | language= sv| access-date= }}

An early recipe for punsch was written by Pehr Osbeck in the book he published with his fellow travellers Olof Torén and Carl Gustaf Ekeberg, A Voyage to China and the East Indies (1771), an English translation of the original Swedish publication of 1757:

{{Blockquote

|It is known to almost every one how punch is made; but, that it may be observed for the future where it is made to its greatest perfection, I will mention the true proportion of its constituent parts. To a quart of boiling water, half a pint of arrack is taken, to which one pound of sugar, and five or six lemons, or instead of them as many tamarinds as are necessary to give it the true acidity, are added: a nutmeg is likewise grated into it. The punch, which is made for the men in our ship was heated with red hot iron balls which were thrown into it. Those who can afford it, make punch a usual drink after dinner. While we stayed in China, we drunk it at dinner instead of wine which the company allowed the first table.A Voyage to China and the East Indies by Peter Osbeck, … together with a Voyage to Suratte by Olof Toreen, chaplain of the Gothic Lion east indiaman, and an Account of the Chinese husbandry by captain Charles Gustavus Eckeberg, translated from the German, I, London, 1771, p. 318.

}}

File:Punschkopp formgiven av Gerda Strömberg, möjligen tillverkad 1933 - M 19415-9.jpg

A testament to the widespread popularity of punsch or rack (arrack){{cite web|last1=Bellman|first1=Carl Michael|title=N:o 9 Måltidssång|trans-title=No. 9 Meal song| url= https://runeberg.org/fredsang/109.html|website= runeberg.org| via=Project Runeberg|access-date=7 August 2014}} are the songs of Swedish eighteenth century poet and composer Carl Michael Bellman. It is often mentioned in his three works Bacchi Tempel (1783), Fredmans epistlar (1790) and Fredmans sånger (1791) about a group of fictional characters, drunkards, bohemians and prostitutes in contemporary Stockholm (see for example song no. 48 or epistle no. 41).{{cite web| title=Texter och musik| trans-title= Texts and lyrics |url= http://www.bellman.net/texter/index.html|website= bellman.net|publisher=Thord Lindé|accessdate=7 August 2014}} Many drinking songs from that period are about the consumption of punsch. Swedish entertainer Povel Ramel sang about punsch in the song "Varför är där ingen is till punschen?"{{cite book |last=Ramel |first=Povel |author-link=Povel Ramel |title=Förflerade lingonben: åtta lådor poesi : [samlade texter] |edition=[Ny utg.] |date=2007 |publisher=Fischer & Co |location=Stockholm |language=sv|isbn=978-91-85183-49-4 |id={{LIBRIS|10492221}} }}

The high point of punsch consumption was during the late nineteenth century, when the Swedes started frequenting restaurants and loved to end their dinner with coffee and half a bottle of punsch on the table, placed in an ice bucket. The drinking of punsch was also popular at home, and outdoor porches were sometimes referred to as punschverandas, where the men drank punsch, told stories, and smoked cigars.{{cite web |title=Punsch Veranda |url=http://punschverandan.com/ |website=punschverandan.com |accessdate=26 January 2019 |archive-date=26 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126164335/http://punschverandan.com/ |url-status=dead }}

Use in food and drink

File:Dammsugare.JPG

Until the 1840s, punsch was typically served warm and created just before consumption: a sugarloaf was placed upright in a large bowl, hot water was poured over it to make the sugar dissolve, and arrack, unflavoured spirits and German Rhine wine were added. Still warm, the drink was then served in cups. Punsch is also used as a flavoring agent or to increase the alcohol content for glögg,{{cite web |title=Punsch |url=http://www.saunalahti.fi/marian1/gourmet/punsch.htm |website=saunalahti.fi |accessdate=26 January 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} the warmed Scandinavian mulled wine frequently associated with Christmas. On Thursdays, punsch is traditionally served warm as an accompaniment to Swedish yellow pea and pork soup (ärtsoppa) and pancakes.{{cite web |title=Pea Soup and Swedish Punsch |url=http://www.svenskaforeningen.org.nz/en/activities/pea-soup-punsch/ |website=svenskaforeningen.org.nz |accessdate=26 January 2019}}{{cite web | website= The New York Times |url=https://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/how-about-a-nice-swedish-punsch/ |title= How About a Nice Swedish Punsch?| first= Robert| last= Simonson |date=19 May 2011 |accessdate=28 January 2019}}{{cite web |title=What should I drink in your country? |url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20141105-what-should-i-drink-in-your-country |website=bbc.com |accessdate=28 January 2019}} It may also be served warm at winter festivals and at student {{lang|sv|sittning}} dinners.

In 1845 the wine importing company J. Cederlunds Söner started selling premixed punsch in bottles. This was quickly followed by several other manufacturers, including in northern Germany,{{cite book |title=Midland Druggist & Pharmaceutical Review |date=1909 |publisher=Midland Publish Company |location=Columbus, Ohio |page=193}} and the habit of also drinking punsch as a chilled liqueur began to take hold.

Apart from being drunk neat, punsch is mixed into cocktails.{{cite web |title=Swedish punsch cheat sheet |url=http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2017/04/swedish-punsch-cheat-sheet.html |website= cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com |date=19 April 2017 |accessdate=27 January 2019}} Among the more prevalent are the Doctor cocktail (with rum & lime), the Diki-Diki (with apple brandy & grapefruit juice), and the Guldkant (or "gold rim", made with equal parts punsch & cognac).{{cite web |title=Guldkant Drink |url= https://www.cocktailguiden.com/drink/guldkant/ |website=cocktailguiden.com |date=9 January 2013 |accessdate=24 January 2019}} Trader Vic's 1947 Bartender's Guide includes the Turret Cocktail and its version of the Corpse Reviver No.2 with Swedish punsch. Other alcoholic drinks include the Boomerang cocktail, Greta Garbo,{{CN|date=February 2025}} Malecon, and the Modernista.

Mixed also for wine cocktails, pre-prohibition era bartender Charles Mahoney mixed equal parts Rhine wine and punsch to make a Prefeldt Highball.{{cite book |last1=Mahoney |first1=Charles |title= Hoffman House Bartender Guide |date=1912 |publisher=Richard Fox Publishing |location=Franklin Square, New York |page=206}} Punsch is also added to sparkling wine to make a punsch royale.{{cite web |title= What exactly is a Royale? |url=https://punchdrink.com/articles/what-exactly-is-a-royale-cocktail-punch-recipe/ |website= PunchDrink.com |date=7 November 2016 |accessdate=24 January 2019}}

Used as a flavoring syrup in desserts, it is a vital ingredient in the popular Swedish chocolate praline, known as punschpralin.{{cite web |title=Punschpralinens skapare i konkurs |date=14 July 2018 |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/lokala-nyheter/QlA1GW@ablokal |website= aftonbladet.se |publisher=Aftonbladet |language= sv| accessdate=27 January 2019}} It is also used in the pastry called punschrulle,{{cite web |title=Så gör du den perfekta dammsugaren |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/matdryck/a/dde3gB/sa-gor-du-den-perfekta-dammsugaren |date=12 January 2019 |website= aftonbladet.se |publisher=Aftonbladet | language= sv |accessdate=27 January 2019}} and is associated with the Runeberg torte.{{cite web |last1=Maino |first1=Caroline |title=Runebergstårta |url=https://kultursmakarna.se/2018/02/05/runebergstarta/ |website= kultursmakarna.se |publisher=Kultursmakarna |date=5 February 2018 | language= sv |accessdate=27 January 2019}} Punsch ice cream is an available flavor in Sweden.{{cite web |title=Ice Cream Parlours in Stockholm |url=https://thatsup.co.uk/stockholm/guide/ice-cream-parlours-in-stockholm/ |website=thatsup.co.uk |date=13 September 2017 |accessdate=28 January 2019}}

Common brands

Image:Punschsverige.jpg

Carlshamns Flaggpunsch (originally Sweden, but {{as of|2019|lc=yes}}, manufactured in Finland)
Cederlunds Caloric (originally Sweden, but {{as of|2019|lc=yes}}, manufactured in Finland)
Facile Punsch (Sweden)
Trosa Punsch (Sweden)
Helmi Arrakkipunssi (Finland)
Kronan Swedish Punsch (Sweden)
Roslags Punsch (Sweden)
Bellmanpunsch (Sweden)
Grönstedts Blå (Sweden, reintroduced in 2020)

Defunct brands

Bil-Punsch (Automobile Punsch)
Cirkus-Punsch
Elevator-Punsch
Hushålls-Punsch (Household Punsch)
Kavalleri-Punsch (Cavalry Punsch)
Par Bricole-Punsch
Platins
Skridsko-Punsch (’’Ice skate punsch’’)
Student-Punsch
Sport-Punsch
Telefon-Punsch
Velociped-Punsch (’’Bicycle punsch’’)
Victoria-Punsch
Lunda-punsch