To add a real punch to your next night out, consider a communal cocktail.
Large-format drinks for upward of 10 people are delighting imbibers across the city, thanks to their Instagram-worthy presentation as well as the craft involved in making a massive mixed drink. If you’re looking for a megacocktail to try, grab your friends and head to one of these five destinations:
The NoMad Bar
Bar Director Leo Robitschek has been making waves of late thanks to his “Cocktail Explosions” — so named because they’re not really punches, but fully-realized cocktails. The bar serves around eight of these large-format drinks a night, with favorites including the Madison Park Smash (comprised of cognac, Royal Combier liqueur, lemon, Angostura bitters and mint) and the Mai Tai (agricole rhum, Jamaican rum, Guyanese rum, orgeat syrup, orange liqueur and lime). They’re served in giant etched glass vessels with spigots that were commissioned just for the bar. $110 (serves 6-8 people); 10 W. 28th St., 212-796-1500, Thenomadhotel.com
Dead Rabbit
The FiDi cocktail destination offers a variety of punches on its extensive drinks menu served in ornate punch bowls and ladled into tea cups, many made with Jameson Black Barrel Whiskey. These include the strong Counter Punch, the signature Rabbit Punch and the ominously-named Knock Out Punch. From $50 (serves 8-10 people); 30 Water St., 646-422-7906, Deadrabbitnyc.com
Gallow Green at The McKittrick Hotel
Since opening two years ago, Gallow Green has gained a reputation as one of the best rooftop bars in the city, thanks in part to its punches. Served in copper tureens, the group drinks range from the rum-based Glasgow to the celebratory Grande Champagne to the signature, absinthe-featuring Gallow Green, all prepared tableside. From $60 (serves 6-8 people); 542 W. 27th St., 212-564-1662, Mckittrickhotel.com/gallowgreen
Clover Club
Among the sours and cobblers, royales, juleps and beach drinks on the diverse menu, this Brooklyn cocktail destination also serves up a couple of group-friendly punches. You and your friends can dive into the Philadelphia Fish-House Punch, comprised of Jamaican rum, Cognac, peach brandy and lemon shrub, or the summery Magic Hour Punch (concocted with Lillet Rosé, yellow Chartreuse, grapefruit juice and Prosecco), served in a classic punch bowl. $46 (serves 4-6); 120 Smith St., Cobble Hill, 718-855-7939, cloverclubny.com
Cienfuegos
Feel like Goldilocks at this restaurant and bar, which serves punches for groups of two to three (the “Con un Amiga” size) to upward of 10 (“The Royal”), so you can find one that’s just the right size for your party. Punches, which are served in cool silver punch bowls, are primarily rum-based, though the Lillet Rosé and St. Germain-based Outskirts of Paris strays from the pack. From $38 (serves 2-3 people) to $114 (serves 9-10 people); 95 Avenue A, 212-614-6818, Cienfuegosny.com
