Punches · Rum · IBA official
Funky Jamaican rum, the snap of fresh lime and the soft sweetness of cane, all poured over plenty of ice. The bitters sit on top, so the first sip smells of clove and nutmeg before the fruit comes through.
1½ oz
Jamaican rume.g. Appleton Estate · Smith & Cross · Wray & Nephew · Hampden Estate · Worthy Park
½ oz
lime juice freshly squeezed
1 oz
sugar cane juice or 15 ml rich cane syrup plus 15 ml water
3 dash
Angostura bitters added on topBuy on Amazon →
Garnish: Cocktail cherry and pineapple · Ice: Ice cubes
Planter's Punch
Rich and rummy with bright lime acidity and rounded cane sweetness. Medium strength, long and refreshing, with warm spice from the bitters.
Planter's Punch is less a single invention than a formula. Rum punches of sour, sweet, strong and weak had been made in the Caribbean for centuries, and a rhyme that circulated from at least the early 20th century sums it up: one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak.
The drink is most closely associated with Jamaica, whose heavy pot still rums gave it its character, and Jamaican rum brands promoted it abroad. Hotels in the American South also claimed versions of it, but the name points to the plantation economy of the Caribbean. Because the formula was so flexible, recipes vary widely, from simple rum, lime and sugar to fruity mixes with orange, pineapple and grenadine.
A Jamaican dark or aged rum is traditional. Its funky, fruity character is what gives the drink its depth.
One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak: lime, sugar, rum and water or ice, in that proportion.
It is a medium-strength long drink with one measure of rum, lengthened by juice and ice.
The perfect sound
Lazy sunshine on a Jamaican plantation veranda.
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