Pineapple Moonshine Punch

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen. Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

Gullah Geechee chef Charlotte Jenkins served this fruity, potent punch at her niece’s wedding, along with shrimp and grits , fried green tomatoes, roast beef, string beans, Gullah rice , and buttermilk biscuits. In her cookbook, Gullah Cuisine , Jenkins credits the recipe to her daughter Kesha, who dubbed it “sweetgrass wedding punch” because the color of the finished drink reminded her of the reddish stems of fresh sweetgrass.

Adapted from Gullah Cuisine: By Land and By Sea by Charlotte Jenkins. Copyright © 2010. Available from Evening Post Books.

Featured in “ Chef Charlotte Jenkins Is Spreading the Gospel of Gullah Cuisine ” by Amethyst Ganaway .

Yield: 2½ gallons

• 2 cups sugar
• 6 cups pineapple juice
• ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (from 3 lemons)
• 2 cups moonshine or corn liquor
• ½ canister Kool-Aid (9.5 oz.), any flavor
• Pineapple slices, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. To a large pot, add the sugar and 8 cups of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the pineapple and lemon juices, moonshine, and Kool-Aid, and mix well. Refrigerate until chilled.
2. Serve in glasses over ice, garnished with pineapple slices if desired.