3-Rum Caribbean Planter's Punch

Here's a taste of the tropics for you: three rums, sweet orange and pineapple juices, refreshingly tart lime juice, and a dash of grenadine.  This is a fantastic summer drink that is not too sweet for a fruit punch, and as strong as you can stand.

In the summer of 1993, I spent a week sailing the British Virgin Islands and was introduced to some amazing rum drinks. Thankfully, I was just sober enough to keep the recipes, and this 3-Rum Planter's Punch was one of my favorites. In the deep summer (or sometimes in deep winter when longing for summer!), I get an itch to mix a batch of these up.

Ingredients

• 1 oz. Dark Rum

• 1 oz. White Rum

• 1 oz. Gold Rum

• 3 oz. Orange Juice

• 3 oz. Pineapple Juice

• 1 Tbsp Lime Juice

• Dash Grenadine

• Orange Slice & Cherry for Garnish

Directions

1. In a shaker with ice, combine Rums and juices.  Shake well and strain into an ice filled Collins glass.

2. Add grenadine to taste, mixing with a spoon.

3. Add the garnish.

Notes

The lime juice (and possibly the orange juice, depending) provides tartness, while the sweetness of the pineapple juice and grenadine balance it out. Keep this in mind to tweak your "perfect" balance by adding a wee more to taste. Personally, I like the juices smooth on the palate--not too tart, and not too sweet--, but with a lil' rum topper in addition :) Speaking of rum...

If you don't have all the rums, it is fine to use fewer. In my decreasing order of preference:

• 1.5 oz dark rum & 1.5 oz white rum, or

• 3 oz dark rum

This is a very easy recipe to prepare in bulk ahead of time for parties.  For many servings, prepare a batch by multiplying the recipe by the number of servings and keeping the punch in a pitcher or jug.

Tags: #caribbean #cocktail #orange #pineapple #rum