Planter's Punch
Punch planteur · Planters Punch
A short Jamaican rum drink with lime and fresh sugar cane juice, served over ice: rich, tart and gently sweet.
- 18.2% ABV
- Built in the glass
- 2 min
- Rocks glass
- citrusy
- sweet
- rich
- IBA official cocktail · The Unforgettables
about 1 standard drink (US, 14 g of alcohol). Estimated after dilution with ice.
Ingredients
- 1½ ozDark Jamaican rumJamaican rum gives the full-bodied, slightly funky character of the drink.
- ½ ozFresh lime juice
- 1 ozFresh sugar cane juiceFresh-pressed cane juice, not syrup. It spoils quickly, so keep it cold.
- ¼ ozWater (optional)Optional, only to dilute the drink to your taste. Add it little by little.
Ice: Ice cubes · Garnish: orange
Method
- Choose a small rocks glass (tumbler).
- Pour 45 ml dark Jamaican rum, 15 ml fresh lime juice and 30 ml fresh sugar cane juice directly into the glass.
- Add ice cubes and stir gently for a few seconds. For a more diluted drink, stir in up to 10 ml of water, a teaspoon at a time, and taste as you go.
- Cut a strip of orange zest, twist it over the drink to release its oils, then drop it in or rest it on the rim.
Tips
- The older, widely served version is longer and fruitier: the same rum with orange juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice, grenadine, sugar syrup and a few dashes of aromatic bitters. It is not the current IBA recipe.
- No fresh cane juice? Stir 10 ml simple syrup with 20 ml water to replace the 30 ml. The sweetness is similar, without the grassy flavor.
- The IBA leaves dilution up to you, with ice or a little water. Taste after stirring and stop when the rum and lime are in balance.
History
Planter's Punch is tied to Caribbean rum punches of the plantation era, especially Jamaica, but who first made it, and when, is disputed. A well-known rhyme about punch proportions (one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak, meaning water) is often linked to it. The current IBA specification, revised in 2020, is a short three-ingredient build.
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