Rubber duckies bobbing on ice. A smoke show. Colorful floral arrangements and fruit floats. Punch bowls always deliver on the “ooh-ahh” factor, according to beverage industry veteran Tamsen Braam, general manager of The Family Jones Spirit House (3245 Osage St.)
So, when Braam decided to add a few shareable sippers to the menu to showcase the distillery’s key spirits and the bar’s housemade syrups and juices, she started by sourcing an array of beautiful glass punch bowls from the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall and local thrift stores.
Everyone raise a glass: Large-format convivial cocktails are officially back, with a handful of Front Range bars inviting groups to gather around a punch bowl.
Large-format cocktails run the gamut, from the kitschy “fish bowls” at Wally’s Wisconsin Tavern (1417 Market St.) that are jazzed up with Swedish Fish candies and blinking LED ice cubes, to the classic tiki cocktails like Mai Tais and Zombies at Jungle (2018 10th St., Boulder) that can be ordered in a medium format with five drinks to a large size with 13 drinks.
The Family Jones Spirit House’s large-format cocktails now include The Bikini Bottom, with Family Jones vodka, pineapple, mint demerara and angostura bitters (which will transport you to the islands), and The Porch Swing, a blend of Ella Jones Bourbon, peach tea and syrup and lemon (which tastes like “you’re in Georgia, drinking sweet tea on a porch swing,” Braam said).
Family Jones’ Captain Planet is gin-forward (maybe even a little healthy) with cucumber, celery juice, tangerine, and lime. Each drink comes with a ladle so guests can serve themselves and drink out of their own glasses. A tiny taster is often added to the punch bowl for those who are celebrating birthdays, graduations or other milestones.
Big sippers are also popular at Forget Me Not in Cherry Creek (227 Clayton St.), where four large-format cocktails are on the menu ranging from a firebird with tequila, ancho reyes, guava, sparkling wine and citrus to the bourbon-centric Prospector’s Payoff with honey, pineapple, ginger, lemon and bubbles.
“We focus on approachable spirits that many guests enjoy and make sure that they are super Instagrammable — think fire, think elaborate garnishes. You can even go blue with a rubber duck on top,” said Nicole Lebedevitch, beverage director at Forget Me Not. “The idea is to have fun and share an experience with the group you came with.”
To avoid shared straws, Forget Me Not delivers its large-format drinks in a glass decanter with a spigot and individual glasses.
And over on South Broadway, Adrift Tiki Bar (218 S. Broadway) has punch bowls that can serve two to four, plus a showstopper: The $150 Hono Nui Bowl that is limited to parties of six or more. It’s inspired by the Tortuga, a tiki classic with a rum blend, cacao, dry curaçao, housemade grenadine, lemon, orange and a whole bottle of champagne.
We know what you’re wondering: Dare we wander back to buffet lines, blow out birthday candles, and share punch bowls?
I posed the question to microbiologist Jason Tetro, author of “The Germ Code” and “The Germ Files” and host of the “Super Awesome Science Show” podcast.
In theory, if everyone has his or her own straw and avoids backwashing of any kind, then there should be no problem, Tetro said. At most bars, you’re ladling your drink into glasses, but even shared punch bowls with individual straws don’t pose too much of a risk.
“But in order to do that, you would need to suck into the straw, lift the straw from the shared liquid, and let it drain into your mouth,” Tetro said. “Not the easiest thing to do, although it could be a pretty fun game.”
All that being said, if you are sharing a drink with others, there is a greater chance of being infected through close contact with a sick individual, Tetro explained.
“So, while the drink may pose a threat, being so close to someone during those laughs, and shouts, and coughs and sneezes may end up being even more risky,” he said.
With that disclaimer out of the way: Go big! Then go home (in an Uber!)
