Pear Blackberry Sparkling Holiday Punch

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 2 strips orange zest
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 ripe pears
• 1 ¼ cups boiling water
• 1 ¼ cups pear vodka
• 1 bottle (750 ml) prosecco or other sparkling wine, chilled
• Ice

Instructions

1. Put a handful of blackberries in a heatproof bowl and crush them with a fork.
2. Add the rest of the blackberries, the cloves, cinnamon, star anise, orange zest and rosemary.
3. Pour in the boiling water.
4. Core the pears, slice them thinly and add them to the bowl. Stir well.
5. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours, or overnight. This is called steeping, which lets the flavors seep into the water.
6. Pour the mixture into a large serving bowl. Fill it halfway with ice.
7. Add the pear vodka and the prosecco. Stir gently so the bubbles stay.
8. Serve right away in small glasses with some fruit in each.