Rum punch
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- no cooking required
- Serve
- Serves 6–8
- Dietary
- Dairy-freeEgg-free
A traditional Caribbean-style punch is Mary Poppins’s favourite drink and a party-starter par excellence. The basic formula is 'one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak' – which should help you remember the amount of citrus, sugar, spirit and dilution required. Do not neglect the nutmeg!
Ingredients
- 4 tsp loose leaf tea leaves (green or black works well)
- 2 unwaxed lemons
- 100g/3½oz brown sugar
- 400ml/14fl oz dark rum
- a good shake of Angostura bitters
- ice
To garnish
- 1 whole nutmeg, to grate
- few slices lemon or other citrus fruit (optional)
- few sprigs fresh mint (optional)
Method
First make the tea. The best method is to leave the loose leaf tea to infuse in 400ml/14fl oz cold water for about 8 hours and then strain. Alternatively, make it hot in a pot, strain and allow it to cool.
Now prepare the oleo saccharum — this is the citrus sherbert that is the key to any good punch. Pare the zest from the lemons, taking care to avoid the white pith. Place the pared zest in a sturdy bowl along with the sugar and use a muddler (or wooden spoon) to pound the sugar into the zest to extract the bitter lemon oils.
Gradually add the rum, continuing to stir and pound until all the sugar is dissolved.
Add the Angostura bitters, cold tea and the juice from about half a lemon, tasting as you go. It should be mellow and rounded as opposed to tart and/or sweet. If it’s a little strong, you can always add water.
You may wish to strain out the lemon zest before serving in your punch bowl or jug. Either way, just before serving, add ice – the larger the pieces, the slower they will melt.
Decorate with slices of citrus and springs of mint, if you fancy. Leave for guests to help themselves, alongside the nutmeg to grate over each serving.
Recipe tips
Punch can also be served warm. In this case, prepare the punch in a saucepan, warming the rum-lemon-sugar mixture before adding hot tea and squeezing in the lemon juice at the end. You may need a little extra hot water to balance the flavours.
You can vary this base recipe to your heart’s content with additional fruit juices, slices of pineapple, various different kinds of rum, generous glugs of liqueur, etc.
