Freeze the orange mixture the night before, and all you have to do the day of is uncork the sparkling wine.
The Ingredients:
Makes about 140 cocktails
- 6 navel oranges, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 tsp. bitters
- 24 bottles sparkling wine, chilled
Combine the oranges, sugar and 8 cups of water in a large glass bowl; cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 8 minutes. Remove and stir to dissolve the sugar; add bitters and stir to combine. Allow mixture to cool completely, then pour into two round cake pans; cover and freeze overnight. One hour before you plan to serve punch, remove one cake pan from freezer, and dip into a pan of hot water for a few seconds, to loosen ice. Place the frozen round in a large punch bowl, and pour 6 bottles of sparkling wine on top. Let sit until serving, then add 6 bottles more sparkling wine as needed. Shortly before this punch batch is gone, repeat the process with the second frozen round and case of sparkling wine.
(BTW: Keep wine in an ice-filled bathtub if you are short on fridge space.)
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