🥃 Punsch (Swedish punsch)

Punsch (Swedish punsch) is a highly sweetened, slightly spicy liqueur created in Sweden in the 18th century. According to the Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails, it is built on Indonesian Batavia arrack, which is also its dominant flavour, and its alcohol content is moderate, around 25% ABV.

Arrack and early punsch. The Spritmuseum in Stockholm dates the history of punsch in Sweden to the mid-1700s, when arrack was first imported from the East Indies; the first East Indiaman with arrack, porcelain and spices reached Gothenburg in 1733. Early Swedish punsch was mixed from arrack, sugar, water, tea and lemon, served piping hot, and at first it was a drink of the wealthy.

Bottling. By 1845 the firm J. Cederlunds Söner was selling ready-made punsch. Arrack was mixed with water, sugar syrup and usually a sour wine, then aged in oak casks for a couple of months. Bottling made punsch more accessible, and drinking it well chilled became fashionable. Consumption peaked from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.

Tradition. Punsch is linked to yellow pea soup on Thursdays, student nations and the military. The museum says Swedes drink less of it than before, but the customs persist. In 1917 production passed to AB Vin- & Spritcentralen, and the state monopoly ended in 1995.

Why it matters to you. Punsch is sweet, and the sweetness masks a strength of around a quarter of the volume. Check the strength on the label. The WHO points out that no level of alcohol consumption is safe.