May30

Super Punch

Star Power

Jannamico Super Punch tastes like liquid fruit cake. And I’m not talking about your lovely homemade variety with dried fruit, nuts, rum, etc. I’m talking those grocery store, candied-orange monstrosities that have a shelf life longer than Pop Tarts. It also has this spicy caramel syrup quality to it. Yet, despite all of that, I still like it.

There is virtually no information about Super Punch on the web. I asked Nathan, fellow PAer and likely one of 3 people I know who can acquire the stuff, if he had any juicy details on this maliciously good spirit, and he offered the following:

“It’s an abruzzo punch, imported by D’Andrea in Pittsburgh and drank by old Italians during the holidays.”

I’m pretty confident Super Punch is the Mad Dog of Italy. From what I can tell it only comes in 1L bottles, and the label is … well, pretty rad.

Super Punch, as you might imagine with such a name, demands no less than a +3 Barspoon of Panache to beat into submission in a cocktail. Rum seems to be its soul mate, and really, what good fruit cake doesn’t have a healthy dose of rum in it?

Star Power

  • 3/4oz Super Punch
  • 3/4oz Lemon Hart 151
  • 1/2oz orange juice
  • 1/2oz lime juice
  • 1/2oz falernum
  • 1 dash Bitter Truth aromatic bitters
  • 6 drops Herbsaint

Shake with crushed ice and drop gleefully into a fruit cake pan.

Rick from Kaiser Penguin

Depending on your sweet tooth, you might want to up the lime slightly here, but LH151 and Super Punch play together like tarragon and sherry. Or for a less obscure cooking reference: roast chicken and dijon mustard. Ok ok… pomme frite and mayonnaise.

Dutch Power

  • 3/4oz Super Punch
  • 3/4oz Bols Genever gin
  • 1/2oz orange juice
  • 1/2oz lime juice
  • 3/4oz Don’s Mix (1/2oz grapefruit juice, 1/4oz cinnamon syrup
  • 1/2oz falernum
  • 1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake with crushed ice and donate to you favorite Italian tiki mug.

Nathan from PLCB Users Group

Nathan’s magical punch reminds me of a dessert from childhood. Whatever dessert I was having when I was five that tasted like malted gin I cannot recall, but it’s damn good.

KP Questions

  1. Have you ever had Super Punch?
  2. What obscure spirit can you get locally that the rest of us have never heard of?

10 Responses to “Super Punch”

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10 Comments to “ Super Punch”
  1. TiareNo Gravatar says:

    I have never even heard of Superpunch..

    The local spirits we have here that i doubt are outside of this country are various “Swedish brannvin”, thats basically spirit that is spiced with various spices.Its supposed to be drunk neat.I`m not that fond of it but at certain feasts you are supposed to toast with it and sing too.So its just to drink it up and sing along and be happy!

  2. RowenNo Gravatar says:

    Far out! I keep looking at that label…. So it looks like they have a lemoncello and an amaro too, but the Super Punch is so, um, unexpected.

  3. GlennNo Gravatar says:

    You live in PA? I never knew. Longtime reader, first time commenter. Where in PA are you from? I’m near Allentown.

  4. GlennNo Gravatar says:

    I lied, I posted on the lurker thread, so I’m not a first time commenter. D’oh!

  5. Did Rick just drop a D&D reference? I think he did.

  6. sylvanNo Gravatar says:

    Oregon has a weird maybe Galliano-clone called Florentino. I’ve not had it, but reports are that it is awful.

  7. Dr. BambooNo Gravatar says:

    While I do love the sweet, herbal embrace of Super Punch, I have to admit that half of it’s appeal for me is the mystery. The fact that no one can seem to find out anything about it makes it all the more intriguing. I keep imagining a colony of Italian gnomes toiling away in some cave distilling this stuff using arcane knowledge and forgotten technologies.

    Plus, it has the Pittsburgh connection. And the Engrish-like mangled grammar on the label is just icing on the cake. May those green flames wave proudly for many days to come.

  8. LaurenNo Gravatar says:

    I have never heard of Super Punch either, but I have to agree the label is pretty sweet, although I dont think the bottle beats this http://www.ti-toki.com/about.html. I don’t know why New Zealand has this, or why we continue to make it, but I assume its not available overseas?

  9. […] lure of Super Punch has been strong ever since I dreamed up the Star Power. Though I’ve learned much since then: thou shalt treat this Christmas fruitcake bomb as the […]

  10. PattyNo Gravatar says:

    I’m from Pittsburgh and my uncle (also in Pittsburgh) always has a stock of Super Punch. I have on idea how he gets it. Other than he was born and raised in Abruzzo, where it’s made. And, I have to agree that the “English-like mangled grammar on the label is just icing on the cake.”

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About

Kaiser Penguin is a cocktail blog featuring original recipes, homemade ingredients, classic cocktails, and tiki drinks.

Why on Earth did you name your blog “Kaiser Penguin?”

It is a well-known fact that penguins are members of high society and enjoy fine cocktails. Our very own kaiser penguin would like me to mention that he also enjoys various treats from the sea.

Contact: rick@kaiserpenguin.com