Punch

Punch is a mixed drink, usually served from a large communal bowl, that traces its roots to South Asia, where sailors and traders of the British East India Company are believed to have encountered it in the seventeenth century. One common account holds that the drinks name comes from the Hindi and Sanskrit word panch, meaning five, referring to a traditional five ingredient formula of spirit, sugar, lemon or lime, water and spice or tea. From South Asia the drink spread to England and then across Europe and colonial America, diversifying enormously into countless alcoholic and non-alcoholic variations served at parties and large gatherings.