September 20th is National Rum Punch Day and what better way to celebrate the end of summer than with a refreshing rum punch cocktail! Rum Punch has a long history dating back to the 1600’s during the spice trade and was widely considered the first cocktail. When British soldiers with the British East India Company sailed long voyages to bring back spices to England they often ran out of beer and wine, or it spoiled. They started experimenting with spirits, mostly arrack, from the East and West Indies to recreate wine by putting the acidity back in (citrus juice) and the sweet (sugar) to balance it out. This actually worked out well for the sailors since the citrus also helped protect them from scurvy during their voyages. As England colonized the sugar producing nations, punch and especially punch bowls became very popular in England. Rum then became the spirit of choice since it was abundant. The word punch was derived from the Hindu word “panch” which means five. The first recipes consisted of spirit, sugar, citrus, water and spice hence the five essential ingredients in punch. There is also a catchy Barbados rhyme regarding the basic punch recipes which goes like this “one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak” and a little spice to make it nice. Enjoy!
Equipment
- Cocktail Shaker
- Strainer
- Jigger
- Small Saucepan
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Tropical Highball Glass
- Bamboo Skewee
- Straw
Ingredients – Serves 1
- 1.5 oz White Rum (I used Captain Morgan)
- 1.5 oz Dark Rum (I used Plantation, now renamed Plantaray)
- 2 oz Pineapple Juice
- 1 oz Orange Juice
- .05 oz Lime Juice
- .05 oz Simple Syrup (1 cup sugar+1 cup water)
- .05 oz Grenadine
- Pinch Ground Cinnamon
- Orange Wheel and Maraschino Cherry for garnish
Method
- Make the simple syrup. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar. Stir occasionally and heat to boil. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour into a glass container and store any extra in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.
- Prepare your garnish. Cut an orange in half, then cut a 1/4-inch wheel from one half. Remove a cherry from jar and gently pat dry with paper towel or napkin (remove stem). Place the cherry in the center of the orange, slightly fold the orange wheel in. Skewer one edge of the orange peel, through the cherry then out the other side of the orange peel. Set aside.
- Make the cocktail. In a cocktail shaker with ice, add the rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, lime juice, simple syrup, grenadine and cinnamon. Shake to combine for at least 30 seconds. Pour into an ice filled tropical highball glass. Garnish with orange and cherry skewer and add a straw. Cheers!
For the Mocktail
Follow all steps above but substitute the 3 oz rum with 1.5 oz each of pineapple and orange juice. You could also substitute the rum with a nonalcoholic version such as Ritual Zero Proof Rum. Enjoy!
Want to make a batch for a crowd?
Mix all ingredients (X20) together in a punch bowl with ice (Large ice molds are nice and don’t melt as quickly). Garnish with orange and lime wheels or freeze the orange and lime in the ice molds. Cheers!
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