Ponche Navideño (Mexican Christmas Fruit Punch)

Ingredients

• 4 quarts water
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 8 whole cloves
• 5 tamarind pods long, husk removed, and seeded or boil the entire pod to make removing easier
• 1/2 pound crab apples or tejocotes, left whole
• 6 guavas large, peeled and cut into large bite-size chunks
• 2 red apples your choice, peeled, cored, and cut into small bite-size chunks
• 1 pear your choice, peeled, cored, and cut into small bite-size chunks
• 2 sugarcane sticks 4-inch, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 1 cup pitted prunes
• 1/2 cup dark raisins
• 1 Orange sliced
• 1 piloncillo
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 ounce brandy or tequila per cup, optional