[1][2] The drink was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century.

[8] The drink was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century.

[11] Non-alcoholic varieties, which are especially given to children, as well as adults who do not drink alcohol, typically include a mix of fruit juice, water, and a sweetener, such as sugar or honey.

The non-alcoholic versions are typically served at school dances, church functions, picnics, and other similar social occasions.

Despite the name, most brands contain only a small fraction of actual fruit juice; the major constituents are typically sugar or corn syrup, citric acid, and artificial flavors.

To a quart of boiling water, half a pint of arrack is taken, to which one pound of sugar, and five or six lemons, or instead of them as many tamarinds as are necessary to give it the true acidity, are added: a nutmeg is likewise grated into it.

[citation needed] Blow My Skull is a famous alcoholic punch drink that originated in mid-19th-century Australia that contains rum, porter, lime, sugar, and other ingredients.

Falernum liqueur is also frequently added,[17][18] which was itself an early form of punch made by steeping cloves with rum, lime, and other ingredients.

Cups are generally lower in alcohol content than other punches and usually use wine, cider, sloe gin, or liqueurs as the base.

This is a punch made of red wine and flaming overproof rum (such as Stroh), poured over a Zuckerhut (sugarloaf), a large conical sugar cube placed in the "Feuerzange".

Arrack-based punches were historically popular in India and Sri Lanka, where it was distilled from toddy, the wine made from sap of various palm trees.

Other common ingredients in ponche include sugar cane pieces, piloncillo, apples, pears, dry hibiscus, raisins, prunes, clove and star anise.

Due to its proximity to Argentina, Paraguay has also adopted Clericó (and with the same Spanishized name) and it is also consumed during Christmas and New Year celebrations there.

[26] "Punch" is typically called bål [sv] in Sweden, and is commonly served in a bowl at social functions (e.g. graduation or wedding receptions).

Bål as thought of broadly should not be confused with punsch, which is a specific type of alcoholic punch using arrack that was very popular in Sweden in the decades around 1900.

Dragoon punch was popular in Sweden and Norway in the early 1900s, and added both stout and beer to brandy, champagne, and sherry.

[31] An early print reference to Planter's Punch appeared in the August 8, 1908 edition of The New York Times:[32] This recipe I give to thee, dear brother in the heat.

Guests of the club who partook of the punch include George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Chester A. Arthur.

The punch has regained popularity in the 21st century, partially due to the renewed availability of real peach brandy from modern craft distillers.