Was a big hit at a recent baby shower -- everyone wanted the recipe. However, I did notice I wasnt successful in making the sugar water a "syrup." It never did thicken (is it really supposed to?). And, as others have noted, they leave this step out b/c it is very sweet. One thing I did note, I only made one small batch of the sugar mix, and I doubled all the rest of the items, and the single batch of sugar mix was plenty for both batches I made of the punch. I am making it again tomorrow, and will also leave it out like others noted, as all the other ingredients make the punch sweet. Also, I made the mistake in getting just a can of cherries in water, and didnt notice "marchino" cherries were on the actual recipe....and the other cherries were smooshy while floating in the punch -- really looked like dark red blobs! not very pretty. Will purchase the right cherries next time. Overall, very easy and good!