Friday 5 o’Clock Cocktail – Planter’s Punch

Exactly 100 years ago today the New York Times published the following poetic recipe that is based on rhymes that are repeated by rote in the Caribbean:

PLANTER’S PUNCH
This recipe I give to thee,
Dear brother in the heat.
Take two of sour (lime let it be)
To one and a half of sweet,
Of Old Jamaica pour three strong,
And add four parts of weak.
Then mix and drink. I do no wrong —
I know whereof I speak.

Depending on where you are in the Caribbean, similar poetic recipes can be found for Planter’s Punch, Bajan Rum Punch, or Caribbean Rum Punch. The differences between them are minor variations in the ratios of lime juice to the other ingredients.

Decoding the rhyme, the “sour” is lime or lemon juice, the “sweet” is some form of citrus juice – usually pineapple or orange juice. The “strong” is, of course, rum. And the “weak” is water.

Today, we don’t usually water down our liquor because it is no longer sold at barrel strength the way it was 100 years ago. Plus, the crushed ice dilutes the drink naturally.

So, to modernize the recipe a bit, here’s how I make mine:

1 ½ oz Light Rum

1 ½ oz Dark Rum

3 oz Orange Juice (or substitute Pineapple Juice)

1/2 to 1 oz Lime Juice (depending on your taste)

1 cup crushed ice

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake well. Then pour into a Collins glass and garnish with citrus fruit slices.

Of course, you can always scale this recipe up to a “punch” and make a whole pitcher of it.

Friday 5 o’Clock Cocktail – Barbados Punch

Captain Morgan, Lime, Triple Sec and Pineapple Juice. I’m not sure what could possibly go wrong with that combination of ingredients. Even if you messed up the proportions; most likely it would still taste great.

Right now, pineapples are a buck each at my grocery store, and I almost never need a reason to buy a bottle of rum. So, it just seemed natural to make this drink today. Then make another one. And then a third for desert.

The Barbados Punch is tangy-sweet, and refreshing with the ice slushy effect. A great way to plus this drink up is to substitute some chunks of pineapple for the pineapple juice. It creates this frothy sweet, lime citrus drink. Oh man, it’s good.

I find when I make these blended drinks that it helps to prep the ice before I put the rest of the ingredients in. So I put the ice in the blender first and whack it around on low speed for a bit – pulsing on and off. Otherwise you end up with big chuncks of ice and the rest pulverized into liquid.

Of course, I’m just a Drunk and I don’t have a fancy blender. Probably if you have one of those great bar blenders you don’t have to worry about it.

Anyway, here’s what you need:

• 1 oz Spiced Rum (That’s Captain Morgan for most of us)
• 1/4 oz Triple Sec
• 2 oz Pineapple Juice (or better yet, throw some chunks of pineapple in the blender instead of the juice)
• 1 oz Lime Juice (fresh squeezed is always best, but use what you have)

Instructions: Put a cup of ice in the blender and crack it up a bit. Then add all the other ingredients and blend it up well. Pour into a highball glass, and garnish with a slice of your pineapple and a lime slice. Drink it responsibly (whatever that means).

Remember there are thousands of Cocktail Recipes on the Drunk Man’s Guide!

Friday 5 o’clock Cocktail – Christmas Tree Water

Ok, ok, just kidding; don’t actually feed this drink to the Christmas Tree. Feed it to yourself instead.

How to make a Christmas Tree Water:

Ingredients:
1 oz Gin
2 oz Sprite
1 Pinch Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Directions:
Mix the Gin and Sprite together using whatever method is available at the moment – Toothpick, Chopstick, your little finger. If you want to spice it up a bit, you can add a pinch of Cayenne (Red) Pepper. Serve it in a Cocktail Glass.

More Cocktails, Punches, and Shooters >>