Planter's Punch
Jamaican rum, lime, sugar and bitters, lengthened with water and ice. A single serve of the old Caribbean punch formula.
- MethodShaken
- GlassCollins glass
- IceCrushed
- Strengthabout 13.8% ABV
- BaseRum
- Tastefruity, sour, strong
Recipe
| 60 ml 2 oz | Jamaican rum (aged) |
| 22.5 ml ¾ oz | Fresh lime juice |
| 15 ml ½ oz | Demerara syrup (2:1) |
| 7.5 ml ¼ oz | Grenadine (pomegranate syrup) (optional) |
| 3 dashes | Aromatic bitters (Angostura-style) |
| 30 ml 1 oz | Cold water |
Garnish. A sprig of mint and a half-wheel of orange; the old Jamaican habit was a grating of nutmeg on top as well.
Method
- Put all the ingredients in a shaker.
- Add a scoop of crushed ice and shake for about 10 seconds.
- Pour the lot into a collins glass and top with more crushed ice.
- Garnish with mint and orange.
About the Planter's Punch
Planter's Punch is a rum punch made for one: strong Jamaican rum, lime, dark sugar and a few dashes of bitters, stretched with water and ice. It should taste of the rum first, with its molasses and tropical fruit notes, then sour and spice. It is the simplest of the long rum drinks and the ancestor of many tiki recipes.
History
Earliest record 1878: Fun (London magazine), recipe in verse
Documented
Rum punch was a staple of the British Caribbean from the 17th century. The name Planter's Punch is found in print by 1878, when the London magazine Fun published a recipe in verse. American newspapers repeated various rhyming formulas in the 1900s, the best known being "one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak", which gives the proportions of lime, sugar, rum and water. Jamaica's rum producers promoted the drink heavily in the 20th century.
Legend and lore
The Planters Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, and various Jamaican hotels and estates are each said to have created the drink. The formula is older than any of them, and none of these claims has contemporary support.
Disputed or unclear: Where and when the drink was first made is unknown; recipes vary widely, with or without fruit juices and grenadine.
Variations
- Four-part rhyme punch. Follow the old rhyme by volume (1 lime, 2 syrup, 3 rum, 4 water and ice) for a larger batch served in a bowl.
- Zombie. The tiki era's descendant: three rums, more spice and far more strength.
- Queen's Park Swizzle. A Trinidad cousin with mint, swizzled with crushed ice in the glass.
Bartender's notes
- The water is part of the recipe. Punch was always diluted; leave it out and the drink is hot and heavy.
- Use a Jamaican rum with some age and flavour. A light rum makes a pleasant but anonymous drink.
