Dark 'n' Stormy
60 ml Dark rum, 100 ml Ginger beer, 10 ml Lime juice, 1 Lime wedge
Planter's Punch
One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak.
Tiki
Easy
5 min
Photo: Planters Punch 2 by Achim Schleuning (E-Mail: comander02_de@yahoo.de) · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 360 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 360 ml line. Dark rum
- 180 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 180 ml line. Orange juice
- 180 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 180 ml line. Pineapple juice
- 90 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) and one small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon. Lemon juice
- 60 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) of a standard jigger, plus two teaspoons. Grenadine
- 60 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) of a standard jigger, plus two teaspoons. Simple syrup
- 18 dashes Bottle Eighteen quick shakes of the bottle - each a few drops, about a millilitre. Angostura bitters
- 6 pinches Nutmeg (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Shake everything with ice and pour into a tall glass over fresh ice.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 930 ml of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Shake the rum, both juices, the lemon, grenadine, syrup and bitters with ice for 12 seconds.
- Pour into a tall glass over fresh ice.
- Grate nutmeg over the top and add a slice of orange.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Planter's Punch
This is the oldest drink in the book that still tastes like a holiday, and it has been made in the Caribbean since the seventeenth century, when plantation owners were looking for something to do with their rum. The rhyme has been printed in newspapers since the 1900s and is the whole recipe - one part sour, two sweet, three strong, four weak - which means anybody can make it with whatever is on the shelf and get something decent.
Getting it right
It is a ratio, not a formula, so use it as a starting point: this version is heavier on the rum and lighter on the sweet than the rhyme suggests, because the bitters and the lemon do the work that sugar used to. The three dashes of Angostura are not decoration - they are the difference between a fruit punch and a cocktail. And grated nutmeg on top is what makes a planter's punch smell like the islands rather than like a juice carton.
Tasting notes
Generous and tropical, with dark rum flavour running underneath the fruit and a bitter-spiced finish. It is a drink for a table with several people at it, and it doubles beautifully.
More Dark rum cocktails
Hurricane
60 ml Dark rum, 30 ml Passion fruit purée, 20 ml Lemon juice, 15 ml Grenadine, 10 ml Simple syrup, 1 Orange slice
Jungle Bird
45 ml Dark rum, 20 ml Campari, 45 ml Pineapple juice, 15 ml Lime juice, 15 ml Simple syrup, 1 wedge Pineapple