Vintage holiday punch and cocktail recipes from the ’50s & ’60s

1950s, 1960s, Vintage Christmas, Vintage drink recipes, Vintage Thanksgiving

Note: This article may feature affiliate links to Amazon or other companies, and purchases made via these links may earn us a small commission at no additional cost to you. Find out more here.

Retro party punch & cocktail recipes from 1961

Holly Ball

For a festive look, spear red and green maraschino cherries on a sprig of mint or holly. Place in tall glass with ice cubes. Add a jigger of whiskey, fill with sparking ginger ale.

Glacier highball

Pack tall glass and pointed paper cone with shaved ice. Invert cone on ice in glass, leaving cone-shaped “glacier.” Add a jigger of Scotch whiskey, will with a lively Canada Dry club soda.

Candy Cane Collins

Pour a jigger of gin or vodka over ice cubes in a tall glass. Fill with Collins mixer. Garnish with citrus slices and a candy cane. A tasteful holiday toast.

Christmas sparkler

For a bright new drink, fill tall glass with cracked ice. Add 5 dashes of bitters, 2 ounces whiskey, gin or rum. Fill with sparkling Canada Dry grapefruit. Add lemon spiral; stir.

Kris Kringle Punch

28-ounce bottle ginger ale
28-ounce bottle club soda
28-ounce bottle grapefruit
28-ounce bottle Hi-spot lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1 small jar (8 ounces) maraschino cherries
Citrus fruit slices
Optional: Add your favorite liquor to taste (gin, rum, whiskey or vodka)

Pour ice cold ginger ale, club soda, grapefruit and hi-spot over ice in a large punch bowl. Add sugar, cherries and fruit slices. Liquor if desired. Stir gently till sugar dissolves. Makes about 30 punch servings.

ALSO SEE 38 cool, non-alcoholic drinks for an old-fashioned party punchbowl

A 5-minute recipe for vintage holiday punch from 1959

Now – A new Canada Dry holiday punch you can make in 5 minutes… 30 tangy servings from this recipe.

1/4 cup sugar
1 small jar (8 ounces) maraschino cherries
3 cups grapefruit juice
1 large bottle club soda
1 large bottle hi-spot lemon soda
1 large bottle ginger ale
Citrus fruit slices
Optional: Add your favorite liquor to taste (gin, rum, whiskey or vodka)

Combine first three ingredients; pour over ice into large punch bowl. Then add ice-cold hi-spot, club soda and ginger ale just before serving. Liquor if desired; stir gently. Makes about 30 punch cup servings.

ALSO SEE 38 cool, non-alcoholic drinks for an old-fashioned party punchbowl

Spiked cranberry punch (1963)

Ingredients

2 quarts cranberry juice
1 cup brandy
2 cups rum
1 packet frozen raspberries
1 cup strong tea, if desired

Directions

Combine all ingredients and serve very cold. If desired, dry ice can be used for a smoky, snowy effect. It can be placed, in large pieces, in the punch, but shouldn’t be touched with bare hands or taken internally. If dry ice is used, ladle the punch into glasses through a fine strainer.

Smirnoff vodka fruit punch (1960)

Combine 2 quarts of orange juice, 1 cup lemon juice, 1 quart Smirnoff. Add orange and lemon slices, 12 ounces frozen strawberries. Chill in refrigerator. Jusst before serving, add 1 quart of chilled sparkling water and 2 trays of ice. Serves 32 drinks.

ALSO SEE 17 old-fashioned hot punch recipes for the holidays to warm your winter - including traditional wassail

If you enjoyed this post, please share it! And be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter, follow us on Facebook or Pinterest, or check out the cool stuff in our shop. Thanks for visiting!