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Julie Reiner makes a mean bowl of Punch. Misty Kalkofen does, too. I am sure they’re not alone.

We've seen a pretty stunning cocktail revival in the past few years. Do you suppose that we'll see a wider return to the use of the communal punch bowl? Political punch? (A tea-punch party?)

God, I hope so. 

In Punch, there's an 18th-century quote comparing a body politic to a bowl of well-balanced punch. What sort of mixed beverage could serve as a metaphor for the current state of the union?

Oregon pinot noir and Four Loko, about one part of the former and four of the latter.

What is the ideal music to consume punch to?

Good question. When I have Punch parties the usual musical fare is a bewildering mix of 1960s African music, Western swing, doo wop, hot jazz, the Dubliners, and any other old thing I’ve got lying around. I used to be a music writer, and my tastes are pretty ADD.

But the best Punch music was that provided by the Brigands, the pirate band we hired for my New York book party for Punch. Now that was cool. 

In the course of describing various punch vessels, you mention that you know someone who's made punch in a washing machine, and another who has used a building as their punchbowl. Would you care to explain (if not name names)? 

Ted Munat, of the Seattle Munats, told me about the washing machine. I think they cleaned it first.

And the other thing was the so-called “architectural punch bowl” that they did in London last year as a promotion for Courvoisier. A gentleman by the name of Joe McCanta was in charge of executing that one. 

Your doctorate was in Latin scientific poetry. How has your academic work influenced your research in the history of drinking?

I kind of view what I do now as academia by other means. Other, better means. All research, no committees—and everybody I lecture to has a drink in their hands. My only wish is that the Romans had had a serious cocktail culture. 

But seriously, one thing studying classical literature teaches you is to weigh dubious, garbled sources—things that have been passed from one person to another, with a good deal of incomprehension at every turn. Remarkably like bar culture, in other words. 

What's the future of punch?

I anticipate the day when every household in this wide and bountiful land will begin each day with a bowl of Regent’s Punch, shared lovingly among the generations. 

B.C. Burroughs contributed to this piece, an extended version of which has been published in three parts (I, II, III) on Dudekicker.com.