TO MAKE PUNCH: Prepare and refrigerate all ingredients separately at as low a temperature as possible (pisco can be put in freezer). Prepare large blocks of ice.
PROCESS: Add all ingredients to punch bowl and stir to combine. Add large ice block, and stir lightly again around the block to chill the punch. Serve punch bowl with ladle and coupe glasses.
TO MAKE HONEY SYRUP: Add 3 parts hot water to 1 part honey, by volume. Stir until honey is dissolved completely. Refrigerate. This is a diluted honey syrup because, when serving, all ingredients are chilled and there is no shaking, so normal cocktail dilution will not occur. Water is a necessary component to the cocktail/punch, and for service, it is better to derive the water portion from the syrup than a bottle of water.
TO PREPARE LARGE BLOCKS OF ICE: Use spring water when making your ice blocks, or boiled tap water, which will yield clearer ice. Fill large, clean yogurt tubs, Bundt cake molds or metal bowls/containers to 1-inch below the rim and freeze at least overnight (preferably longer). If time is of the essence, use metal rather than plastic and don’t cover the container. Keep in mind water tends to force the bottom of the yogurt tubs to bulge during freezing, so you might want to set the tub on a flat surface, like a cookie sheet, while it freezes. To release the ice, soak the bottom of the container in warm water for about one minute until it can slide around.
Notes
Origin of the name:
This is a variation of a Bee's Knees punch. While the "Bee's Knees" is an old term that means cool, "The Cat's Pajamas" is an adjective used by hipsters of the 1920's to describe a person who is the best at what they do, and also used to describe another person who is genial and fun to be with, ie:"Martin sure knows how to dance, he's the cats pajamas, man!"
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