The best large format cocktails in NYC

Punch is the star at this Latin-themed bar, with 13 varieties on offer. The Funky Old Man From Martinique is a Caribbean number, with rum, lime, cane syrup and a splash of sparkling wine; while the Basilica curbs the smoke of whiskey with lime, basil, vanilla, passion fruit and cucumber. Punches are available in three sizes: the for-two Con un Amigo ($40), a four-person Toda La Familia ($80) and the Royal, which can serve five or more people ($120).

This refreshing for-two cocktail at the haute Lower East Side restaurant is served with two types of Caribbean rum, and fresh grapefruit and lime juices for $35 in glass tea cups.

The kitschy Gowanus bar is known for its flaming, four-person scorpion bowl ($28): Brandy, rum and other sweet mixers are combined in a luau-themed bowl with colorful straws, for a night you’ll never remember.

The for-two Gibson ($32) at this ritzy hotel bar is a great accompaniment to date night, in that it’s almost like getting a drink and dinner in one fell swoop. The cocktail stirs vodka, gin and Chenin blanc with vermouth, green apple eau de vie, beeswax and pickled vegetables.

The Instagrammable punch bowls are worth a trek to this Times Square hotel bar. The Honey Rum Punch—made with aged rum, house-made black-tea–demerara syrup, freshly squeezed light, Peychaud bitters and honey sourced from the hotel’s rooftop hive—serves four ($58) or eight guests ($96).

This agave-based newcomer has plenty of mescal drinks, but the granddaddy of them all is the El Burro Fantasma, with Peloton de la Muerte mezcal, aperol, agave, lime, pink grapefruit and chili. A $26 order serves two.

The Metropolis, tucked under Blue Water Grill in Union Square, keeps it simple with its Fruit Smash ($110), which large groups of six to eight people. You’ll only find blanco tequila, seasonal market fruits and fresh mint in the oversize drink.

Cocktails come in three sizes ($11 single, $35 for two to four people, and $70 for up to eight) at this South Street Seaport bar. The Drinkupny sounds like a tempting beck-and-call and not just in name only—the bowl has balsam magnolia blossom, oolong tea, local aperitif wine, lemon and a bubbly splash of Perrier.

The name may be out of this world, but the flavors are totally down-to-earth: rum, berry cognac, curacao, pineapple and lime juices, cinnamon and sparkling wine make up this oversize cocktail ($75), available for four to six people at the LES speakeasy.

Sure, you can drink old-fashioneds, gin and tonics, and rum and cokes by yourself, but it’s so much better sharing the experience in one big bowl with friends. The revived Holiday Cocktail Lounge serves those same basic quaffs for four ($45) or six people ($56).