I needed  a refreshing, elegant, not too boozy drink for a Christmas cocktail party.  Usually I’d serve a Manhattan or a Simpatico or some such.  But my better half and I were hoping for spirited conversation and fun times, not a house full of drunkards.  And since nothing says Christmas party like punch, we had a starting point. The word “punch” comes from the Parsi word for five and traditionally contained five ingredients: a spirit, sugar, lemon juice, water, and spices, herbs, or tea.  Here, I chose two spirits, lemon juice, vermouth and black pepper syrup (the sugar, herbs, spices), and seltzer (the water).