Planter’s Punch
The Jamaican original. ‘One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak’—a 19th-century plantation formula that became the blueprint for nearly every rum punch that followed. Including, eventually, every drink in the exotic-cocktail canon.
The History
A Jamaican plantation tradition dating to at least the early 1800s, possibly earlier. The verse—‘One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak’—first appears in print in the 1870s and became the most-cited formula in cocktail history. The ‘weak’ was originally water; modern recipes substitute fruit juice or tea. When Donn Beach was building tiki in 1934, the Planter’s Punch was the substrate he was modifying.
Ingredients
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz rich demerara syrup (2:1)
- 3 oz dark Jamaican rum (Appleton 12, Hamilton, or Smith & Cross)
- 4 oz cold water (or chilled black tea)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Fresh nutmeg & mint sprig (garnish)
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a tall glass.
Stir gently to integrate.
Fill the glass with crushed ice.
Grate fresh nutmeg generously over the top and garnish with a mint sprig.